Brighter than Sunshine
by kaitothegreat
Summary: Takes up second identity. Destroy the Organization. Return back to normal. That had always been their goal. But at some point when the plan failed and the fine line between magic and madness became a blur, Shinichi and Kaito were starting to realize the universe might be built... just to screw them over together. Literally.
1. 1

Brighter than Sunshine

Takes up second identity. Destroy the Organization. Return back to normal. That had always been their goal. But at some point when the plan fails and the fine line between magic and madness became a blur, Shinichi and Kaito were starting to realize the universe might be built... just to screw them over together. Literally.

NOTE: This is a somewhat a movie-verse **canon-pairing fic** , but filled with some **bromance** here and there. The summary, like always, didn't explain much, but I'll let the story explain the setting itself. You'll come back for the second chapter if it happens to interest you... I guess? *nervous laughter* And anyway, happy new year :')

* * *

Between cats and dogs, Kaito had to say he would prefer cats.

They were stealth, like him. Alluring, like him. And definitely sneaky and crafty and always up to mischief, like him. How great was that? Now that he thought about it, there were certainly plenty of similarities between him and a cat.

So _maybe_ , his current situation wasn't as bad as he really thought it was. Except having to deal with fleas.

And on the even brighter side, at least he wasn't... transformed into a freaking pineapple or something worse.

The last thing Kaito, or more like Kaitou Kid, remembered was flying in his glider against the wind while trying to manoeuvre his way towards the forest beside the grand hotel he'd stolen the _Mystical Enchantment_ sapphire from. It was stupid of him to try opposing to nature, but having a freakish brat loitering near his escape routes, whose power kick and soccer ball grandly _defying_ gravity itself, Kaito realized there wasn't really a difference.

But Kaito had overestimated himself and underestimated the wind. Before he knew what was happening, the metal pole fixture of his glider snapped and he flew towards the direction of the hotel he was trying to escape from and crashed backwards into the darkness of the forest.

And that was it. That was what happened before he opened his eyes, realizing that everything around him, despite the shadowy tree branches and thick canopy, was clear, as if he had gained some un-human special night vision. Oh, and also how his hands and feet had suddenly grew un-human paw pads and that his ears could also tweak to a certain un-human angle.

Of course. BECAUSE HE WASN'T A HUMAN ANYMORE.

He was a _cat_.

 _Is this a nightmare? Please tell me it's a nightmare._ Kaito stretched his body, before an unintentional purr suddenly came out from his mouth. The fur on his body instantly stood up like static and his claws automatically extended in alarm, sinking into the dirt under a tree.

Ok. Calm down. Calm the _hell down_ , Kuroba Kaito. He sighed out loud, which came out as a soft "Meow", before he inwardly grunted at himself. He give his cat-form a once over, to at least know how he actually looked. He was sized as an average cat, probably one that lived around a year or so. His fur was silky white, the ends were sticking out and needed grooming. Kaito was skeptical with the breed type, until he unconsciously moved his tail and realized he didn't have one. Or more like it was too short and round for him to see. It was then realization dawned upon him.

Of all the cats he could be, he was a bobtail cat. The cat with the ridiculous ball of tail that looked closed to a rabbit. Seriously.

"Meow." He started scrubbing his paws over his head, flicking his ears and rubbing his eyes. _Maybe it's all a dream._ "Meow!" _A bloody dream. Wake up._ "Meow!" _Kuroba Kaito. Wake up!_

"Five more minutes, ... neechan."

Kaito froze.

He set his paws onto the ground and slowly shifted his head cautiously to his right, his ears perked up and alert. After being so frantic and intrigued by his new body, it didn't occur to him to actually look around his surrounding and find the clues that resulted in this mess.

The glider, white and glaringly obvious in contrast to the darkness, was lying against a tall tree. Bits of broken parts that Kaito recognized were littered around, but that wasn't part of his concern. With his form, the last thing he could do was to use the glider anyway.

"Five more minutes..."

He lifted his soft butt and pawed his way tentatively towards the voice.

His eyes widened at the two feet sticking out from behind the glider.

Kaito sprinted.

It was him. Kaitou Kid. His night identity, was lying on the ground with his hat toppled sideways and monocle gone from his face. His eyes were closed and somewhat unconscious.

His face.

His Kuroba Kaito face.

Why was _his body_ there when he was... _here_?!

"Meow!" _It must be all a dream! I just have to wake up and this nightmare will be over._

He gracefully pounced onto his own chest and started jumping up and down. His real form jerked a little, face crumpling with annoyance before it was gone and a soft snore ensued.

 _Desperate times calls for desperate measures._ Unwillingly, Kaito exposed his claws and swung it right into his collarbone.

"Ow!" The human in the shape of Kuroba Kaito flung up from his lying position and wrapped a hand over the mark where Kaito had left behind with his useful sharp claws. "What the hell!" He exclaimed, unstably stumbling on his standing position.

No. It didn't work. Kaito was still looking one feet from the ground, its head raised and still staring at his supposed _own_ body.

"Meow!" _Who are you?! Why aren't I back in my body?_

"And who are you?!" The human bellowed, eyes darting left and right before settling back to Kaito's cat form again, his angered features now masked with confusion and a mix of surprise. "What the.. Why can I hear a cat talk?"

"Meow!" _You're in my goddamn body!_ Kaito hissed, his sharp teeth showing menacingly.

"Body?" The human looked down at himself before his eyes turned so wide that Kaito was afraid his true body's eyeballs would drop out. "I'm... Kaitou Kid? And _you're_ Kaitou Kid?" He brushed a hand down his face and let out a shuddering breath. "How the hell did this happen? What about my own body?"

Besides the scent of mud, dead insects and the faint smell of perfume he used before this fateful heist, Kaito couldn't smell anything else. He wrinkled his damp cat nose. There shouldn't be anyone or anything else here.

 _Shit. My damn, darn luck._ The human continuously glanced at his hand like he was looking at a gold bar. _De-aging by ten years is already one big joke. And now body switching? How am I going to explain to Ran?_

Kaito's cat ears perked up, his eyes staring straight into his own face. He was sure he didn't _hear_ the words... but more like... telepathy? He decided to shelve the abilities he had with the bond of his own body and focused on the conversation.

"Meow." _I don't think you have the rights to complain when you're not a cat now, Kudo Shinichi._

The human — or as mentioned — Kudo Shinichi, flinched. He quietly eyed down at Kaito, his brows slowly furrowed. "You- How do you know? I didn't say who I was- What do _you_ know about me?" He spat.

"Meow." _That isn't important. What's important is what do you remember before this shit happened?_

Shinichi pinched the bridge of his nose, sincerely deep in thought. "The memories are foggy. I recalled I told Ran, as Edogawa Conan, that I was going to the toilet before chasing you into the forest with my skateboard because I knew your glider isn't going to work with the wind." All of the sudden, his shoulder tensed, posture straightened. "And I was right. I saw you crashing down. And... And towards me."

Kaito inadvertently purred.

"You crashed _into_ me." Shinichi turned and glared down at Kaito accusingly. "And this happened."

"Meow." _That doesn't explain why I am a cat._

"In actual fact, it explained nothing." Shinichi dully informed. "I would be glad to send this body to the hands of Inspector Nakamori, but I have no intention to be sitting in the cell in your place."

"Meow." _I will claw your ass._

"This is your ass, by the way."

 _UGH._ "Meow." _We have to work this out. OK. Temporary truce. And take out the costume before you attract the attention from the helicopter that Inspector Nakamori is going to send in a minute or two._

It sure must be hella painful to listen in obedience to Kid as Shinichi scowled, grudgingly pulling out the sleeve of the muddy and dirtied white suit and tossed it to the ground, in a manner like it was infected by all these diseases in the world.

"Do you have a plan?" Shinichi muttered as he tugged out of the red tie and dump it with the coat before rolling up the sleeves of the pressed blue, button up shirt.

"Meow." _I was expecting you, the Great Detective, to think of one._

"Rationally speaking, then," Last and not least, Shinichi carefully peeled the white gloves off his hands, a crook smile plastered on his face. "I supposed we can go back to your home or your secret lair or whatever it is and be _you_ , pretending to be a righteous citizen among your family and friends. I'm in your true form after all."

His small cat nose twitched irritably in response. "Meow." _No. You don't know who I am, much less act like me._

Shinichi sneered. "You sounded like you already have a plan, the _Great Phantom Thief_. Then why do you ask me?"

Kaito wasn't sure if he executed well enough, but he sure did as hell roll his eyes to the back of his cat head. "Meow." _I overestimated you. Sorry._

On the exact cue, the moist air was suddenly tainted with heavy sweat and the scent of bitter coffee that Kaito remembered the hotel staff had supplied to the hard-working police officers guarding the now-stolen jewel. In the next split second, Kaito's ears turned to the direction behind him before he hastily jumped to Shinichi's chest and clawed his way up to his neck.

"What the heck!" Shinichi snapped, rubbing his chest sorely and glared at Kaito who was now resting elegantly on his shoulder; his size just a nice fit. "Mind you! That hurts like hell! And this is your body!"

"Meow." _You're feeling the pain now, not me. Besides, we have trouble._

"I saw Kid's glider malfunctioned around here!" A faint shout was coming ahead, the sound of footsteps slapping against mud and dirt was getting louder and louder. "He should be there!"

"Ok." Shinichi growled and eyed down at his half-Kid costume before turning to see the darkness of the forest. There was no chance of safe escape. "Damn."

"Meow." _Reach out for the left side of the belt and press the button that's underneath._

Shinichi was wise enough to not question anything and he did. In a flash, literally, the shirt Shinichi was wearing was no longer blue but black, including the pants that was supposed to stand out in the night. His white boots were gone too, being replaced by branded sports shoe that would be useful for running. It was only one step at a time, but Shinichi was starting to see the methods of Kaitou Kid's escape tactics.

After two seconds of rustling leaves and snapping of broken branches, a horde of policemen appeared before Shinichi and Kaito, their stance ready to pounce on whatever they were thinking of jumping on. But something made them stop, something like a sense of realization, or something similar to it, flashed across their eyes.

"Aren't you-!" Inspector Nakamori stood there, mouth wide in shock. A few policemen who stood closer to the Inspector shared the same reaction too.

Kid's face was undisguised and free from make up, a terrible mistake, but one that Kaito could easily make use too.

"Meow." _You're Kudo Shinichi. Say it. Faster._

Shinichi flashed a dubious gaze over at the Kaito, who was showing no emotion other than it being... a cat. His form portrayed a much effective poker face than anything else Kaito could ever be.

"I'm Kudo Shinichi." Shinichi finally said, his words slow and clear. "A detective, as you should know since we've met before, Inspector Nakamori."

"Right," Inspector Nakamori glowered and gestured his squad to stand down before stepping closer to Shinich by himself. Without warning, his hands were on both side of his cheeks, squeezing the life out of him.

"Ow!" Shinichi winced. "Inspector-!"

Kaito snickered in his head.

"You're the real deal." Inspector Nakamori muttered before glancing at Shinichi's shoulder, one eyebrow raised at Kaito. It was impossible for anyone to know the true plight of the two of them, but to carry on the facade, Kaito purred and pretentiously licked his paw like how a nonchalant cat would do.

"Why do you have a cat?" the Inspector added suspiciously.

"Uh, it's my trusty partner." Shinichi mustered a smile while rubbing his painful and reddened cheeks. "His name is... Kitty."

"Meow." _Seriously? You must be great with names._ The sarcasm wasn't lacking, even in the tone of a cat.

Shinichi gritted his teeth while trying to keep up the nervous smile. It was true he wasn't great with names. That would explain why his alter-ego's name was Conan instead of a normal Japanese name like Takashi or something. Oh well.

"Kitty." Inspector Nakamori drawled, the interest in his eyes dying like a fire in a snowstorm. "Ok. Detective, how did you get here?"

"I was on a case nearby." He explained naturally, since this script of his had been used once or twice before. It was pretty easy. "And while I was coming over to see how the heist was going, I saw Kid's glider crashed and came over. But he had already escaped when I arrived. Sadly." Shinichi waved over at the broken glider, abandoned suit and tie. "He must have escaped on foot after his glider was damaged."

Inspector Nakamori clicked his tongue and pointed at the glider, his head turned to instruct his subordinates. "Team A stay behind to collect the evidence and send them back to the headquarters. The rest of you are coming with me."

"Yes sir!"

"Your involvement is no longer necessary. We'll comb the area ourselves, and with the help of the helicopters too; Kaitou Kid is our responsibility." Inspector Nakamori sneered and eyed Shinichi up and down before glancing warily at Kaito. "If you're so good at deduction, you should help the Mouri family to search for their lost kid."

 _Right... Edogawa Conan._ Shinichi groaned silently in his head. Kaito's ears flickered, the pleas of the ever great Detective of the East were ringing in his mind loud and clear. "Yeah. I will." Shinichi added unnecessary.

As part of the Kaitou Kid Task force began picking up the broken pieces of the glider while the rest were off following Inspector Nakamori further into the woods, Shinichi slowly lurked in the shadows until he disappeared towards the direction of the hotel. As much as Kaito wished for Shinichi to hurry the hell up with his walking so that he could get out of the forest and as far and away from Inspector Nakamori, he really didn't have the position to do anything other than being a cat. And it seemed the detective had a lot in mind, from the way Kaito's head was echoing with incoherent mumbles that he couldn't understand.

"Meow." _So here's the plan. You're Kudo Shinichi._

"I'm not Kudo Shinichi." The very Kudo Shinichi muttered back, his step continued to be slow.

"Meow." _You're Kudo Shinichi. It's already been done. And your girlfriend is waiting, isn't she?_

"I _can't_ be Kudo Shinichi." Shinichi glunched and halted in his stroll, foot slowly and steadily dipping into the dry mud. "I'm _supposed_ to be dead."

"Meow?" _Based on the records I have about you, you're pretty much alive._

"It might be in your whatever records. But not _theirs_. And Ran... I-I don't know. She can't see me. It's better if she don't. I'm going to leave anyway." Shinichi turned and glanced at Kaito, his cheek brushing against the cat fur. It had been an uncomfortable, awkward contact, and so Kaito responded by jumping back to the ground and circled in his steps before setting his butt on the dirt, looking expectantly at the grouchy looking Shinichi.

"Meow." _You're really in a shitty mess, aren't you?_

"Yes. Very. To think that it couldn't have been worse, but the universe has gladly proved me wrong." Shinichi sighed and rubbed a hand down his face, eyes closed and deep in thought "I know we both have secrets. Your real identity is one, and my involvement in something you shouldn't care about is another. With our body like this, it's hard to compromise to anything."

Kaito was silent. Make it _two_ secrets for him, actually; about his identity and his own involvement with _something_ that he had no intention to let Shinichi butt in too.

There was only one person in Japan who knew about his identity and at the same time Kaito could trust; But even if Jii knew about this, what could he even _do_? He snapped his eyes cautiously at Shinichi and gave him a once over. He didn't dare to trust Shinichi fully as of yet, and he swore he would never forgive himself if Jii's identity and his relation with Kid was exposed. The old man should be retiring and spending his remaining time at his precious bar, not in the prison cell.

And Aoko... Kaito stood up on all fours again and circled in his little space, his eyes focusing on his bobtail on his back. That would be even impossible. She was the last person he wanted to know he was Kid, and this situation wouldn't help in any way. He stopped his futile, depressing and mindless walk and sat back on the ground, paw sinking into the dirt.

Wait- Akako! That witch might be able to undo the spell, or whatever that had happened to them! The only problem was today was just the start of his spring break, and he was pretty sure Akako's home or dungeon was from another dimension or something... But could he really rely on her to undo whatever that had happened? He wasn't sure if she would make use of this circumstances and do something weird to him again, judging from those times she'd often casted spells on him and once nearly _tortured_ him.

Hakuba? No.

Nothing was good, Kaito realized pathetically. Despite it being his intention, he realized he didn't really have anyone he could really rely when he was in deep, damn, trouble.

"I do have a place to go in mind..." Shinichi suddenly spoke, breaking the awful quiet silence. "I have three homes, and one of them might be more helpful than the other two."

"Meow." Kaito looked up, eyes glittering in the darkness attentively. _It's not the time to show off. And helpful? An ally you have?_

"Yeah, but I think she has enough trouble to solve rather than entertaining our problems." Shinichi chortled dryly. "But maybe it'll work out."

"Meow...?" _Why am I not convinced?_

Shinichi ambled past Kaito as he headed towards the other side of the hotel, where the main road was. Kaito quickly followed.

"Well, let's just hope she's in a good mood today."


	2. 2

Brighter than Sunshine (2)

 **NOTE: Writing "Meow" every sentence had been a chore. I'll be leaving it as it is in chapter 1 to let the readers get the feel of it, but from chapter 2 onwards, the following format will be how my story works:**  
 _'Kaito's cat speech.'_ / "Normal speech" / _Thoughts_

* * *

"My wife is going into labour soon too, like you. Around one more week."

As taught (by a cat), Shinichi held onto his breath and squeezed his stomach, forcing his voice to become husky and whiny. "Oh really? It must be tough; with the preparations."

"Yeah." The cab driver chuckled and glanced at the rear mirror, his eyes smiling with excitement. "Tough, but we're anticipating for it."

If Shinichi could pick the worse day of his life, the night he shrunk would be the first, and right now would be a very close second. He gingerly patted and stroked his bloated stomach for show, where Kaito was cuddled and hidden right under his shirt.

After watching five cabs passing them when they refused to pick them up because of Kaito's existence, this was the measure they had to take. Of all the things they could disguise, a pregnant woman was the only option when there wasn't any useful props like a bag or a carrier available. All Shinichi had was an abandoned woven hat he picked up near the dumpster of the hotel, and it was good enough to cover most of his face and look half as near as a pregnant woman.

"Please turn right. Afterwards, you can stop at the third house."

"Sure."

The taxi came to a slow halt right outside the Professor Agasa's house, his yellow Beetle was seen and parked by the gates. Thank God he was at home. And if he was at home, the freeloader number two was likely to be too.

Shinichi fished out a bunch of notes that Kaito had previously mentioned he'd kept in his secret pocket of his shirt, which was meant for possible necessity uses (Kaito certainly didn't foresee this moment but it was still relevant). He peered over at the digits on the screen and handed the needed notes over to the driver. "Thank you for the ride." He did that disgusting husky voice again. "Keep the change."

"Oh, that's really nice of you! Thank you." The driver elatedly accepted the money. "And hope you'll have a smooth delivery."

"You too- I mean so is your wife, too." Knowing that he was at his limits of the stupid pretence, Shinichi hastily stepped out of the car and slammed the door shut with more force than a pregnant lady should have. Whatever anyway, the act he was tired of keeping up was finally over. After the car drove down the narrow street and disappeared after a distance, Shinichi unbuttoned the last few buttons of his shirt as Kaito escaped out of the space.

 _Never, ever, again._ Kaito jumped to the ground, feeling the cool air brushing its fur and enjoying every second of it, rather than the moment of huddling in that tiny space and barely having any fresh air to breathe.

 _'Keep the change? You now owe me 5000 yen when it could've been only 4630 yen.'_ Kaito sent a low growl before rubbing his itchy head against the metal gates. He hoped it wasn't fleas. Anything but fleas.

"For a thief who steals jewels worth millions, you're very petty." Shinichi grunted and jabbed a finger into the bell on the wall.

Kaito twitched his nose. It occurred to him long ago that his fingerprints were going to be left everywhere, but really, was he in the position to mind about that now? Maybe if he didn't act too obvious and care about his true identity, the detective wouldn't take note too.

 _"Hello."_ The speaker suddenly crackled to life.

"Professor Agasa." Shinichi gulped and continued. "It's me."

 _"Who's me?"_

Shinichi closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. "Kudo Shinichi."

The gate didn't open. However after nearly a minute, the front door of the house creaked loudly and Professor Agasa's head popped out from behind, his spectacles glinting suspiciously under the moonlight.

"Please leave. I'll call the police if you don't." Was the squeak that replied back.

"Listen- I'm really _Kudo Shinichi_." He hissed out the last two words softer than the rest. "I don't want to discuss about the mole on your butt again, not here."

Kaito cringed.

"You-" Professor Agasa slowly stepped out from the door he previously deemed as his protective shield and gawked at Shinichi for a long moment. "Shinichi? It's you...?

"Yeah." Shinichi sighed and glanced down at Kaito who was sitting by his feet. "There's lot of things I need to do and explain so please let me into the house first." _Most importantly, I need to call Ran._

Kaito snuffed when he heard the thought. Shinichi only spared him a weird look before turning his head to the professor again.

"You sure have lots of explanation to do, Kudo-kun." A dark figure stepped out from behind the plump professor before the moonlight from outside exposed the disapproving features of Haibara Ai.

The gates were unlocked and Shinichi hurried in, along with Kaito as his tail wagged like a bouncing deflated ball. Both Professor Agasa and Haibara stared at the unexpected guest, but they seemed to know better than to ask about the presence of the cat later than now, which both Shinichi and Kaito was grateful for.

"First thing first Professor Agasa, I need you to call Ran and let her know that Conan is safe." Shinichi said the moment he slumped onto the couch in the living room, exhausted from doing absolutely nothing, except disguising as a pregnant lady and telling Inspector Nakamori he was who he was. Or maybe the weariness from Kid's heist was kicking in and Shinchi was taking a toll, being the one to suffer from the aches and tiredness. "And also explain to her that Conan is going on a vacation with his mother for ten days until Spring break ends." He added.

 _'How positive of you, to think we'll solve this problem in ten days.'_ Kaito ambled into the living room, head darting left and right as he observed the interior designs.

Shinichi clicked his tongue, brows furrowing at Kaito.

" _You're_ Shinichi, right?" Sitting opposite of Shinichi's couch, Professor Agasa gestured his two hands over the very man. "I think if you were to tell Ran-kun that, she'll believe you, so why does the message have to go through me?"

"Ran didn't know I'm like this." Shinichi muttered solemnly.

"Aren't you with her? I saw the news. You- I mean Conan, was at the Kaitou Kid's heist with the Mouri family, no...?" The professor was starting to blabber, like how he would whenever Haibara interrogate him about any missing chocolates in the fridge. "And one more thing. Can you explain why do you have a cat?" He squirmed in his seat uncomfortably and awkwardly pointed at Kaito, his eyes raised in puzzlement before his finger moved towards Shinichi's head. "And what is with the weird hat? Are you okay, Shinichi?"

The detective only sighed in response and plucked the ridiculous and almost-forgotten hat off his head, tossing it over to the coffee table in front of him.

"The more important question is about the state of his body right now." Haibara corrected surly, eyes narrowing as she crossed one leg over another on the seat beside the professor. "I'm pretty sure I didn't give you any more antidote since your London case."

 _London case?_ Kaito turned to Haibara, ears naturally perked up with interest. _Antidote?_

"I'll explain the basics first, but don't freak out." Shinichi pressed a hand over half of his face, one eye scanning between the Professor Agasa and Haibara to observe their reaction.

" _I'm_ waiting." Haibara tapped a finger on the arm rest, impatient.

"Yes. I'm Kudo Shinichi, _but_ this body isn't mine." Shinichi took in a deep breath and held on. "This body belongs to Kaitou Kid."

Silence.

"And that cat is Kid. Kaitou Kid."

In the middle of deafening quietness, a drip of water hitting the sink could be heard from the tap in the kitchen.

Haibara was the first to move. All eyes were on her as she jumped off the sofa, walking around the coffee table and towards Shinichi. She calmly took his hand and placed two fingers on his wrist.

"His vitals are normal." Haibara then moved his head to inspect whatever she was inspecting. "No signs of injury. No possible concussion." She muttered before turning to meet Professor Agasa's eyes. "Brain scans might be necessary, but I can also run a blood test to see if he is suffering from hallucination."

Kaito gasped in retaliation. _'Don't even_ think _of putting any needle into my body.'_

Shinichi mirrored the same reaction, but in a human way. "Whoa there!" He swatted Haibara's hand away and stood up from his seat, his body towering over her. It was rather odd and unnatural to look down at her when he had always been seeing her face to face. "I'm fine. I know I'm currently not in my normal state, but my brain is functioning perfectly well and same."

"What on earth exactly happened at the heist?" Professor Agasa winced, his tone strained with worry as he nervously stared at Kaito who was still sitting obediently on the floor. "And if everything is true, it's a little unnerving to know Kaitou Kid is sitting right there. I'm a little embarrassed to have such a famous star at home."

 _'Uh,'_ Kaito's ears flickered. _'Thank you.'_

Professor Agasa straightened on his seat and turned towards Shinichi animatedly. "Did he say something? Can you understand what he say?"

"Undesirably yes, I can." Shinichi sent a withering look over at Kaito. "He said _Thank you_."

"You're welcome." Professor Agasa quickly gave a half bow. "In actual fact, I'm your fan since a decade ago. Your tricks and gadgets provide a great inspiration for me."

Kaito blinked.

"Professor Agasa, can you make the call first? I really don't want Ran to worry." Shinichi sighed for the thousandth time that night. "Now that the body of Edogawa Conan is gone, I don't have a bowtie to use to mimic Conan's voice, and the only person I know who is capable of doing that without the need of my bowtie is now a cat."

 _'Wow, is that my fault?'_ Kaito hissed.

"Your body-?" Professor Agasa stood up in alarm, but the hardened stare from Shinichi was a signal to say _that_ conversation wasn't important _now_. The professor quickly skipped towards the house phone and began his task.

All of the sudden, a dark shadow casted over Kaito and he flinched, his fur sticking out like needles on soft pillow. He turned his head, to see the girl with strawberry-blonde hair staring down at him, her face similar to how a farmer would look when choosing which turkey in his barn to kill for dinner.

She abruptly reached out her two hands and scooped him up, raising him in the air as if he was a baby.

He purred involuntarily.

"It's too cute to be Kaitou Kid." Haibara deadpanned.

Kaito's ears flattened sideways in response. He wasn't sure if it was a normal cat's instinct, but he was legitimately a little scared now.

He remained as still as he could while Haibara carried him and made her way to the kitchen before setting him on the counter. He tried not to act like he was desperate when he jumped away from her touch, crawling across the marble surface and settled his butt on the cool texture, the tension slowly seeping out from him.

Haibara's height was half a head taller than the counter, giving her the full capability to scrutinize him with the stoney-face of hers for a second or two before she finally turned away.

"If Edogawa Conan's body disappeared," She eyed over her shoulder and at Shinichi, who was standing dumbly by the couch and looking fixedly at Professor Agasa's back as the latter was talking incoherently into the phone. "Then where are _you_? Kudo-kun?"

That finally caught Shinichi's attention. He glanced towards Haibara momentarily as she went to open the fridge.

"I don't know." He mumbled back before lowering his gaze. This was the first. His first _I don't know_. There was only one truth, but what was the truth now? There was no truth. This was a game the universe was playing against him.

"I have a theory." Haibara spoke again. "A wild one, in fact."

Both Kaito and Shinichi turned to stare at her.

"At least the good news is that there's _two_ of you in _two_ separate bodies, even if one of it is a cat. It would be troubling if there's no two entities." Haibara pulled out a bottle of organic milk before slamming the door shut. "So other than the possibility of body switching, some form of mutation could be part of the reason too." She continued flatly, while opening the bottom cupboard to find a bowl.

"Are you saying my body... is a _cat_ now?" Shinichi's cheek twitched, eyes staring in bewilderment at Kaito. "And Kid's in my body?"

"As I said, this is just a theory."

"A freaking wild one, like you said, too." He heaved an exasperated sigh and ran his fingers across his already messy hair.

 _This girl talks about the theory like she's discussing the weather... Is she always this calm? That's quite a skill_. Kaito gulped, his tail sweeping cautiously across the kitchen counter. He turned his head towards Shinichi. _'I have nothing to disagree with what she said.'_ He purred. _'At least it's better than thinking your body had turned into air.'_

It took a while for the detective to regain back his composure. "Yeah." He mumbled absently. "It's one hypothesis we can follow for now."

After pouring the milk into the bowl she found, Haibara placed it in front of Kaito. "Drink up. You're too light and thin for an average cat."

Kaito stared at the milk and nervously glimpsed at Shinichi, while trying to avert any sort of eye contact with Haibara. _'You don't think she would poison this, would she?'_

"Don't worry." Shinichi remarked wryly. "If she's going to poison anyone, the first person would be me."

Haibara flicked her gaze.

"Hey, don't look at me like that." Shinichi scowled and pointed at Kaito. "He asked me if you'd poisoned the milk."

It was the moment when the professor set the house phone back to the stand. "I've called Ran-kun and told her everything you requested. And like you've expected, she's extremely worried, but now relieved. She wanted to talk to you but I told her Conan is already with his mother."

"Good." Shinichi feebly nodded to himself and slumped back heavily onto the couch, his gaze set musingly on the coffee table like all of life's answers lay there. "That's good."

 _Ran. I want to see her but... If I appear and leave again, she will be devastated. And what's more this isn't even my body. It's too much of a risk. What if I suddenly transformed back into Conan, and even worse, into the cat? What can I do? Ran? Ran. RAN._

Kaito snuffed and leaned forward to lick the milk from the bowl, slightly irritated about Shinichi's constant thoughts of the same word echoing in his brain. He would love to tell him to shut up about his girlfriend, but he would prefer to keep this tip of being able to hear his thinking a secret. Who knew when it would be useful?

"Can I pat you?"

Vastly distracted thanks to Shinichi's thoughts, Kaito glanced up in surprise and stared at Professor Agasa, who was now standing by the kitchen counter, his hands waving in delight.

 _'No, please.'_

"What did he say, Shinichi?"

"He said of course." Shinichi drawled from the couch. "Please do it. He loves being patted."

 _'You piece of shit.'_ Kaito jumped off the counter, nearly toppling the bowl of milk.

Professor Agasa frowned as he watched Kaito scurry over to the coffee table and dived under the woven hat that Shinichi left. "I thought you said he wanted to be patted?"

"You know how cats are." Shinichi waved a hand. "He's playing hard to get."

 _'Say anymore and you'll get it from me later.'_ Kaito yelped under his hiding.

Being the only cat translator, it was quite an advantage. This was the only time Shinichi found the energy to smirk, and feeling his mood improved by a microscopic level ever since he woke up in the forest.

"You still owe us the full story." Haibara announced as she made her way back to the sofa, arms crossed and eyes looking none-to-gentle. "What, how and why."

When Kaito was sure the professor's attention was diverted to Shinichi and not on the intention of wanting to pat him anymore, he dared to pop his head out from the hat, the arrangement made him look like a cat-tortoise. He turned towards Shinichi, pupils dilating. _'Don't give any bullshit.'_

Shinichi didn't. Because the story itself was already one big bullshit.

The note. The jewel. The heist. The glider crash. The realization. The disguise. Escape. Why he couldn't go to Ran (He didn't mention this, but the two should know why he couldn't appear in public as Kudo Shinichi). And even about cab driver Shinichi tricked to think he was pregnant when he was hiding a cat under his shirt. Purely ridiculous. Shinichi had roughly summarised everything, and given that Kaito made no sound to interrupt helped Haibara to further confirm that nothing was left unsaid. As for Professor Agasa, he was still stunned in his own world of trying to picture whatever that Shinichi explained.

"We have no idea why it happened." Shinichi ended the story with that one, lame conclusion. "And so, Haibara... I was wondering if you have any idea how we can turn back. Any pills? Some chemical equations? You seemed like you've read up about mutation before." He tried pitifully.

"I may be a scientist, but I'm not a miracle worker."

Shinichi let the silence and disappointing answer to sink in before wiping a hand down his face, an undignified snort muffled behind his palm. "Honestly... your knowledge for crazy things like this was my last resort."

 _Crazy things?_ Kaito remained mute, the hat over his body seemed to weigh heavier and heavier. _Last resort, huh..._

"Are you blaming _your_ plight on _me_?" Haibara warily looked at Shinichi before eyeing over to the quiet Kaito, arms still crossed. "And by the way, it seems like you've divulged quite a fair bit of things to this thief, if you didn't notice; You even implicated him with the Bell Tree Express Train incident." It wasn't anyone's imagination that Haibara's eyes suddenly softened slightly and the whole geography of her face changed, exaggeratedly like from a plot of dirty mud to a field of roses.

So, Kaito got himself partially involved in some mess that this detective and scientist were in and almost turned into burnt toast because of it, and as a repayment for all his effort and life he had endangered, he'd got a _thankful face_ and a bowl of milk. That, was pathetic and funny when he thought long and hard about it.

"I'm willing to expose as much to him because I know he can't do anything about it, with his identity, at least." Shinichi leaned forward on his seat and whipped the woven hat away, exposing Kaito's body on the coffee table. "That's the bet I took."

 _'Is that a challenge to me?'_ Kaito smirked, or at least tried to (His whiskers did move a little).

Shinichi sneered in response.

"Anyway, it's late. And there's nothing we can do as of now." Professor Agasa lightly prompted before pointing up the stairs. "You two should stay for the night in one of the spare bedrooms. We'll discuss more tomorrow?"

"Yeah, good idea." Shinichi said almost immediately. "We should."

That's _not_ a good idea, at least not for Kaito. He snuffed and turned his head towards the door, pondering-

He suddenly felt himself being lifted as Shinichi grabbed him from the bottom and let Kaito lean against his chest. "Don't even try to escape." He muttered into his ear.

Kaito squirmed in his position, uneasy and annoyed. _'My body is here with you. How can I afford to escape?'_

Shinichi said nothing, and it was the same for his thoughts.

"Aren't you going to sleep?" Professor Agasa called out when Haibara was heading to the basement instead of her room.

"There's something I want to research about." Her words had the air of finality and nothing seemed to be able to stop her.

"Is the research relevant to us?" Shinichi stopped to ask.

Haibara considered for a moment. "It'll be relevant if I deem it is."

Kaito narrowed his eyes, watching the little girl ambling down the steps before she disappeared behind a wall. _So there's a basement. This house is interesting._

His thoughts ended there once Shinichi carried him up the stairs, entering the nearest room and shutting the door behind them.

.o.

Comparing to Kaito's, this bedroom was only a tad bit smaller. The bedsheets looked fresh, as if it had been recently changed. Kaito stealthy jumped onto the desk, his paws padding over the smooth and clean wooden surface. He noted the bulb for the desk lamp was new too. It might be claimed as a spare bedroom, but this bedroom didn't look that _spare_ to Kaito. It was most likely used more often than Kaito might guess. Maybe it was for Edogawa Conan when he-

"Stop analysing." Shinichi flipped on the switch for the light before plopping onto the single bed, his eyes staring lazily over at Kaito as the latter was in the midst of sniffing the stationary holder. "You're just a cat."

Kaito turned to look back at Shinichi. More like glare actually, but it wasn't obvious enough when his cat eyes were just... simply cat eyes. _'You've hurt my feelings.'_

"I hope you don't think that I actually care, do you?"

 _'No, I don't.'_ Kaito hissed. _'What I do hope is that you'll choke in your sleep.'_

"In case you've forgotten, I'm actually _you_." Shinichi began unbuttoning the shirt and tugging the sleeves out.

 _'What the hell are you doing?'_ Kaito jumped onto the bed and clawed Shinichi's pants.

"I'm changing out. I'm not going to sleep in this." Shinichi rolled his eyes, ignoring Kaito's futile attempts in trying to stop him as he tossed the black shirt onto the floor and stood up to walk towards the wardrobe. Kaito's sharp claws were still hanging by Shinichi's pants strongly, his furry body swinging with every step Shinichi took.

 _This is pathetic._ Kaito gave up and retracted his claws as he jumped down to the floor, his paw cushioning his fall. _'Don't do anything weird to my body.'_

"Don't worry. Every strand of your hair and every drop of your blood will remain intact and the same." Bare chest, Shinichi opened the cabinet and randomly picked out a green shirt before tugging it over his head. The size was a perfect fit.

Kaito indifferently scrubbed the back of an ear with his paw, eyes slanting to a close. _'Keep to your words, detective.'_

"Keep to my words and then what? _Kaitou Kid._ " Shinichi settled back on the bed and looked at Kaito, who had decided to sit by Shinichi's feet. "At this point of time, do you still think I need samples of your blood or hair to solve the mystery of your identity?" He touched his face; _Kaitou Kid's_ face. "I knew all along we _disturbingly_ looked the same, and I think that's really all I need to know to find out who you are."

 _'Is that a threat?'_ His short tail started moving agitatedly.

"No. I just want to prove that if I'm interested in unraveling who you are, I can. But why didn't I? Because I'm not interested, at least not for now." Shinichi waved a hand absently and Kaito almost expected to see a rose to pop in between his fingers. Almost.

 _'Just get to the point of your statement.'_ He snapped, sharp ears quivered irritably.

"I know you don't trust me, and I don't blame you for it, but-" Shinichi interlinked his hands together to form a bridge. "I was wondering if you have anyone you want to contact."

 _'What do you mean?'_ Kaito eyed Shinichi skeptically.

"Literally what I mean." Shinichi tilted his head, giving a pointed look. "I would personally hope by the time we wake up tomorrow, everything will return back to normal. But what if it didn't? It would then be a day since you disappeared, and there's bound to be someone you want to tell about your-" Shinichi chortled dryly and shook his head. "Ok, or maybe not. Still, at least you might want to inform them you're still alive and not dead or something." _Like how I did to Ran, but through the usual lying means. I've been telling her more lies than the truth now._

 _Impressive._ Kaito watched Shinichi, the latter's expression not once wavering even when his thoughts were so moody. _He has some skill of poker face himself._ Now that Kaito truly reflected, he couldn't deny the level of invasiveness for Shinichi's thoughts was getting a little overboard. But did he choose for this? No. Could he stop it? No. Would it be awkward if he told Shinichi about his weird ability? Yes. It was like the flow-chart quiz in those girly magazines that Aoko used to ask him to take for fun.

Ah, yeah. _Aoko._ Kaito lowered his gaze to his paws. He wasn't exactly any different from Kudo Shinichi, or rather, Edogawa Conan. Lying and lying... Kaito did quite a big part of lying too when it had anything to do with Kid.

"Are you analysing something again?" Shinichi scoffed.

Kaito jerked his head up. _'No.'_

"Your nose always make that weird twitching movement when you do."

 _'I'm breathing.'_

"Whatever, then. So what's the verdict?" Shinichi leaned forward and gave a teasing pat on Kaito's head. "Who do you want to contact?"

Kaito stretched, moving away from Shinichi's touch and gave a low growl. _'Kid has no ties.'_

"Of course, Kid has no ties." Shinichi shrugged nonchalantly before raising his arms to stretch, one eyes closed while the other remained fixated at Kaito, like a sort of challenge or warning. "But you and I know that I'm not talking about Kid. I'm talking about the true persona of Kid. If you want to play ignorant, by all means, and I'll never bring this up again. The whole point of my statements is this; I'm not going to use any cheap underlying methods to sniff out your identity, so you can trust me on this for once."

It was a little gross to see Shinichi nice for the first time, but it didn't change how Kaito was still unwilling to agree to his offer. What made him reluctant wasn't because he wanted to prove how _phantom_ or _independent_ he was, it was more of the process of constructing the message. Still, he didn't have the rights to be choosey when he couldn't even pick up a pen, and he really _did_ need to let Jii know he's alive before the old man gets a panic attack.

And Aoko too.

 _'I'll contact whoever I want to contact by myself.'_ Kaito pounced back on the desk and pulled out a note pad with his mouth, which he noticed was slotted in between the binders previously. _'But what you can help is...'_ The issue about dignity was already out of the box ever since he walked with four feet now. Kaito sighed inwardly. _'You can help to write for me.'_

"Ok, that I can do." Shinichi lifted himself off the bed and sat on the chair, plucking a pen skilfully out of the holder and twirled it around, a sign of being ready.

But Kaito wasn't ready. He laid his body onto the desk, his front legs folded into his furry white chest and contemplating. Just by thinking about his circumstances, Kaito instantly turned speechless and had no idea what to say. Yes, he was _safe_ , and then...? His future was literally bleak. He couldn't even comfort himself and now he was going to comfort others about his _well-being_...?

If he couldn't piece his thoughts into words, then a picture could, right? Doesn't a picture speaks a thousand words? Would a drawing be better? How about a comic strip? Or even a manga?

 _'Just asking, not implying.'_ Kaito purred. _'but are you good at art?'_

He deduced the long silence that followed was equivalent to a no.


	3. 3

Brighter than Sunshine (3)

* * *

It wasn't like Shinichi never had nightmares before.

There were times when he foolishly dreamt of his favourite character falling to his death down the gorge of Reichenbach Falls. Or on certain occasions, he would dream about the different types of karate kicks Ran executed on him after he admitted he was Conan _and_ Shinichi. The more common ones involved the Black Organization finding out about his true identity and hunting him down. The aftermath for all these dreams was him waking up in sweats and heavy pants, but-

But this dream — nightmare — was a whole different level.

Waking up in sweats and heavy pants was one, but this was the first, to an extent where he literally flung himself out of bed and suffered from rapid _choking_ fit (That Kid had cursed him _well_ ). Both of his hands reached out for his neck and applied pressure, in dumb hopes of stopping his heart from coming up to his throat.

The curtains were drawn close, making the room Edogawa Conan used for his usual sleepovers dark, but Shinichi knew his way even without the lights. He gradually climbed out of the bed and trudged heavily towards the door, feet shuffling loudly against the floor.

Even after he exited his near dungeon-lit room, everything outside was painted with grey in the pale darkness. He groped the banister and ambled his way towards the fridge in the kitchen. Obviously still not fully awake, it took a dumb while for him to remember he didn't need to stand on a chair to reach the upper part of the fridge's freezer compartment anymore.

Now with the strength of an adult, he used little force in comparative to when he was Conan and pulled the fridge door open, feeling the cool air brushing his face and down his dry throat when he took a breath. But it still hurts; his lungs still _burns_. Shinichi hastily cracked the ice out of the ice cube tray and shoved one into his mouth. It might be some kind of psychological effect, but he felt better now.

 _What the hell was that dream all about?_ Shinichi drummed his fingers repetitively on the fridge, lost in thought.

The nightmare; It was a huge fire, burning brightly like the sun as the flames enveloped something similar to a stage of a large event hall. There were screams everywhere, echoing and haunting his head, but that wasn't the worse. It was the smell- How the hell did he smell in the dream? He wasn't sure, but he did. And he recognized the scent. Besides the toxic black fumes, he could smell _burnt human flesh_.

 _I've never had this dream before..._ His frown deepened. _Does the dream belong to me or-_

 _'What did you see?'_

Shinichi choked. The ice cube he used to stick inside his mouth flew out, hitting the corner of the fridge before sliding across the floor and to the paws of the white cat he was dreading to see at the moment.

Kid's lurked away from the melting ice cube, his whiskers twitched in a form of disgust. _'Didn't I say not to do anything weird to my body? Why the hell are you eating an ice cube? And in the middle of the night.'_

"You scared me." Shinichi snapped, rubbing the base of his collarbone and closed the fridge door shut, the light illuminating the kitchen a second ago was gone. "And, uh, my throat was itchy. I thought an ice cube might help." He bent over and picked up the dirty ice cube on the floor and tossed it into the sink, destroying the evidence.

 _'Right...'_ Kid yawned, his sharp teeth showing.

"And what are you doing here? Weren't you sleeping?"

 _'You dragged your feet as if you're pulling chains.'_

"Oh." Shinichi scratched his nose awkwardly. "Sorry."

 _'So what did you see?'_ Kid repeated, his ball of tail sweeping slowly across the floor.

"What did I see what?"

 _'The dream.'_ Kid looked bored, although all cats looked equally as bored every time.

"I don't remember saying I had any dream." Shinichi's brows creased, his eyes staring down at the contrasting white fluff against the shadowy areas of the kitchen.

 _'Well,'_ He mewed after a second pause. _'It's a guess. You were tossing and turning in your sleep a couple of times.'_

Shinichi held his dubious gaze onto Kid.

It was simply a fire, wasn't it? Not as if he was held gunpoint or strapped in a bomb vest. If he admitted that a dream about _a fire_ caused him to be so stricken, where else could he hide his pride? "It's nothing." He finally answered and cut off the staring contest before strolling back up the stairs. "I don't remember."

 _'It better not be some erotic dream with your girlfriend.'_ Kid growled and quietly followed Shinichi's steps. _'Don't corrupt my brain for your purposes.'_

"Shut up." Shinichi snapped. "Given that I'm still in _your_ body now, it's a _nightmare_ I have yet to wake up from."

 _'Touché, detective. Touché.'_

.o.

"Good... morning...?"

"Still Kudo Shinichi. And good morning Professor." Shinichi plopped down the stairs, one step heavy at a time. He rubbed an eye tiredly and dragged himself to the kitchen counter, where Professor Agasa was tensely stirring his coffee.

"Your hair is a mess." The plump professor commented.

"I know," Shinichi mindlessly brushed a hand up the back of his head. "I think it's part of Kid's genes or something. It wouldn't straighten no matter how much I tried to comb through it."

"Then did you have a good sleep?" Professor Agasa scrutinized Shinichi. Seeming to have found the answer by himself, he handed the mug towards the detective. "I think you might need this more than me."

"Thanks." Shinichi took the glass and stared into the coffee, his reflection faintly showing through the ripples. Back in those days, he would like his coffee the darker the better. But the black liquid now seemed to turn him off, for some reason. "Actually," he lowered the mug. "I think I'll prefer a smoothie."

"A smoothie?" Professor Agasa quirked an eyebrow but didn't say any further. He silently obliged to his request and awkwardly sauntered towards the fridge, opening it to see what content he had to make a smoothie. "Is an apple smoothie alright?"

"Not apple." Shinichi shook his head. "I want something with a heavier taste. Like a double chocolate ice cream smoothie." Ok. In all honesty, Shinichi had no idea why he suggested that diabetic thing out of everything in the whole damn world.

Professor Agasa's eyes lit up as he closed the fridge. "I can go to the nearest supermarket to buy the ingredients-"

"Don't think I don't know what you are up to, professor." Haibara entered the kitchen out of nowhere, arms folded across her chest as her gaze flicked between the two men.

It wasn't a hallucination that Shinichi heard a whimper.

Haibara snapped a finger at the mug in Shinichi's hand. "I'll have that if you don't want it."

"A very good morning to you too, Haibara." Shinichi scoffed and handed the coffee over.

She grunted in response and took a sip, one side of her lips twitched up to a contented smile. Sighing over the steamy drink, she glanced across the kitchen floor before turning to look back up at the stairs where Shinichi came down from a while ago. "Where's Kaitou Kid?"

"Oh yeah," Professor Agasa blankly glimpsed around. "He's not here."

"He's gone when I woke up." Shinichi leaned against the counter and stifled a yawn. "Probably out to send the _I'm safe_ notes, which I'd helped to write for him yesterday night; They weren't found on the desk anymore."

Haibara blinked.

The professor gave a vastly different reaction from his other housemate; He looked like he would snort out all the coffee if he had drank any. "W-What? But Shinichi- Would Kid be fine alone?" He started waving his hands all over Shinichi's body like he was doing a failed pole dance. "I mean- you're in his body and he is in _that_ current state... he really shouldn't be wandering around on his own."

" _And_ _also_ , that may be _your_ body we're talking about." Haibara added and set the mug onto the counter to do the usual crossed-arm poise she loved to make. "If any mishap happens to Kid, it's _you_ too _._ "

"I know," Shinichi lifted both of his hands to calm the two of them down. "But the notes he's delivering are meant for the people the true persona of Kid knew. And to be fair to him, I've promised I won't follow him."

"That doesn't solve _or_ answer the problems professor and I brought up." Haibara scorned.

Shinichi glanced away, trying to hide the painful, contorted look on his face. "It's freaky and weird to say this but I have trust in him; his skills, at least."

"What skills are you talking about? He's only been a cat for less than 24 hours."

That stumped him for a while. "Okay, fine. I'll-"

"What? You'll go _out_ and look for him?" Haibara challenged again, her eyes staring at him up and down. "You? Kudo Shinichi?"

He sighed and raised his arms in surrender. "First, I need a glass of smoothie before I can continue to answer you or deal with any more crap."

All the things Professor Agasa wanted to say had been said by the bad cop, Haibara. So being the good cop, he innocently offered. "The only option is apple smoothie, though."

"...Better than nothing." Shinichi shrugged, too tired to be choosey anymore. "And thanks professor."

"No problem."

"Don't use up all the milk." Haibara suddenly interjected when Professor Agasa was about to take the carton out of the fridge. "Leave some for Kid."

"..."

"..."

"I sense an unfair treatment." Shinichi was the first to break the odd silence.

"I'm being practical. There's nothing else here for Kid to eat." Haibara stated before whirling around, ending the conversation to her benefit and made her way to the living room.

Shinichi rolled his eyes and followed behind her. "Anyway, about the research you did yesterday... Is it relevant?"

"I don't like repeating myself twice, so I'll wait till Kid comes back before I say anything." Haibara uttered and gracefully sat on the sofa.

His footsteps perfectly reflected his eagerness. "Then it means it's relevant." Shinichi widened his eyes and quickly took a seat beside Haibara.

She flipped through a magazine she took from under the coffee table, her eyes drifting past the page of branded bags. Slowly, she drawled. "Maybe."

"Are you trying to kill me with the suspense?" He scowled, feeling extremely tempted to snatch the magazine out of her grasp and throw it away. The only thing stopping him was the unforeseen consequences he didn't want to imagine. "Is it about the mutation? Did you read up on mutation? Is there a way to change back our bodies? Wait- no. If your theory happens to be true, I need to revert my cat body back to my human body first before we-"

" _Mystical Enchantment_." She finally snapped, her fuse blown by Shinichi's blabbers. "I was researching about the jewel."

Shinichi frowned and adjusted his long legs to properly face Haibara; He was still getting use to the adult form when he'd been a kid for so long. "The jewel?" He tilted his head and felt the front of his unkempt hair swung across his face. "What's so special about it? Besides it being worth tens of millions."

Haibara had no intention to continue the conversation, at least not when there wasn't a full attendance among the implicated parties. But the doorbell that rang two seconds later didn't give her the chance to say anything else anyway.

.o.

As the _Blue Parrot_ was usually empty during the earlier part of the day, most of Kid's related discussions were held around that timing when Jii could temporarily close his business without suffering major losses (though it wasn't as if Jii couldn't retire already, with the amount of funds he had in his bank _s_ ). And for those days when there wasn't any Kid's stuff to talk about, Jii would be in the secret basement room beside the wine cellar, tweaking with all of Kaitou Kid's tool, be it to mend or improve it.

Kuroba Kaito would burst through the front door with a loud _yo!_ in almost every instances _._ But now, without hands to open doors or vocal cords to speak in human language, the only thing he could make use of was the small secret basement's window, which was located at the bottom wall along the back alley of the bar. It was built for emergency ventilation purposes, for moments like _accidentally_ activating all the prototype smoke bombs at once. (Yes, it had been experienced before, hence the lesson was learnt).

However, the existence of the window didn't solve the problem. Another troubling factor for his cat self was the window could only be opened from the inside, so the only way was to get the person inside to open the window for him.

He placed the two pieces of paper on the ground, which he had been biting all the way from the house till here and started ramping the tiny glass with his head. Before he nearly break his skull, he took a break and used another method by extending his claws to scratch the surface of the glass.

From the corner of his sharp eyes, there were shadows moving inside the dim-lit room. Kaito began scratching harder, and decided to try one last time of hitting his head against the window-

 _"Shoo!"_

Kaito's ear flickered and he peered through the glass, to see Jii standing below the window and making a waving gesture, as if his weak attempts could scare a cat off.

But it was his chance. Kaito quickly bit one of the papers that was meant for Jii and pressed it against the glass, hoping the words were visible from Jii's line of sight. The old man did pause to look, his eyes squinted to the point his spectacles was about to drop off his nose. It took him another two seconds before realization dawned upon him.

Jii quickly scurried to the wall and tiptoed to open the window, his wrinkled fingers tentatively peeled the note from Kaito's mouth and brought it to his face. Kaito stayed on the ground level, watching Jii silently as the latter read the note.

 _I'm safe but will be uncontactable for now because of certain pressing matters. Don't worry._

"Silly boy, how can I not? I was so afraid something happened to you." Jii clutched onto the paper tightly against his chest and heaved a sigh of relief. "But thank god you're alright."

 _'Jii-chan... I'm sorry for making you worry.'_

Kaito's low purrs had caught Jii's attention. "Are you Kaito-botchama's messenger?" Jii peeked through the window and gave an odd look. "I've never heard him say anything about training cats as messengers before."

Oh, if _only_ Jii knew. But at least after seeing Jii's relaxed face, it was safe to say the note had fulfilled its purpose of a reassuring message even when it didn't state much. For the rest of this bizarre story, he'd do all the full explaining himself after getting back his body.

He hoped.

 _'I've got to go now. Take care, Jii-chan.'_ Kaito bent forward to pick up the last paper from the floor with his mouth and sprinted away, forcing his nerves not to turn back.

.o.

Being in a cat form, anything that went beyond three streets was considered a long distance for Kaito, and it wasn't exactly like he could walk in a straight line when there were so many obstacles for him, like those office workers who stomped towards their destinations without a care if they were about to flatten a cat with their feet. His curses that came out as soft hisses had no effect on anyone.

It was a long travel from the professor's house to _Blue Parrot_ , but the distance was considerably fine from Jii's bar to Aoko's house. After he made a turn around a block, his pupils dilated at the sight of Aoko's home at the end of the narrow streets. He bit the paper in his mouth tighter, but not enough to tear it with his teeth as he sprinted down, the tiredness of his aching paws seemed to have magically vanished.

The holes between the designs of the gate was luckily just big enough for Kaito to crawl in. He let out a sigh, finally feeling safe from all the people and traffic he had to overcome. His eyes began darting left to right across the front yard, until he stopped to stare at the potted plants that were lining beside the house and under a balcony.

He didn't even need to look up to check the exterior to know that balcony belonged to Aoko's. Kaito knew and memorised every square inch of Aoko's house as if it was his own since a long time ago. He didn't have or make any ridiculous blueprints for that. It all came from the millions visits he'd been to her house, be it for dinner or homework or just to see her.

The potted plants were perfect to use as a stepping stone. He stepped onto a pot and bent his power rear legs, steadily counting down before he leapt to his greatest capability. On the first try, his front legs (just) managed to reach the side bottom of the balcony, his tiny paws successfully hooked around the railings to stop from falling back to the ground. He began wriggling himself up by swinging his body for momentum, until almost half of his front body climbed up the balcony and to safety.

 _I'm going to sleep for ten days straight after this._ Kaito muttered in his head as he wearily ambled his way into Aoko's empty room.

Everything looked exactly the same as the time he came over a few days ago. The same blue bed sheets, the same photo frames, the same books on the desk... He moved his butt and aimed before jumping up onto the table, almost knocking over the stationary holder. Slowly, as though it was a value of precious gem, he set the paper onto the desk and stared.

And stared.

He had no idea how long he'd been sitting on the desk until his noses unconsciously sniffed and ears excitedly twitched at the recognition of the scent and sound coming from outside. It was the scent of strawberry soap he, as Kuroba Kaito, always smells when Aoko got too close to him unintentionally... It was the sound of cheery footsteps he, as Kuroba Kaito, always hears when Aoko was trying to sneak up on him from behind...

It was definitely Aoko.

Kaito swooped back to the floor and dived down from the balcony, landing on the soft patch of grass in near grace (Oh, he _might_ be getting use to this form). He hurriedly ran to the exit, just in time to see Aoko closing the gate behind her.

 _Crap._

"A cat?" Aoko gasped, her mouth turning to a cute _o_ shape as she placed her bags of groceries on the floor and cautiously waved at Kaito, trying to act as harmless as she could. When Kaito made no movement, she bent down to a squat and started making a few clicking noises, which sounded ridiculous if he had to admit.

Now, being a cat himself, he realized how humans were truly the weirdest creature among nature. Or perhaps it was just laughably Aoko.

He should relax, he thought. Even if Aoko had a wild imagination of her own, she could never possibly link him and the cat as one. Suddenly finding himself more entertained than how Aoko would be when she saw a cat, he purred wordlessly and strolled towards her, circling around her squatted knee. She instantly squealed and gently patted his head, which he let her do willingly too.

"There's no collar. So it's a stray, huh? I've never seen you around before. How far have you wander till you came to our front yard?" Aoko grinned, moving her fingers from his head to his ear and scratched. Kaito couldn't help but closed his eyes in satisfaction and leaned a bit closer to Aoko, leaving her questions unanswered. Her scent grew stronger, and the warmth from her hand comforted him enough to decide the distance he had to travel back to the professor's house later would be nothing to him. This was probably the first time he was at ease since last fateful night.

"Oh! And you're a bobtailed cat!" Aoko chimed, her hand still stroking. "Your tail is so short. It looks more like a mushroom growing out of your butt."

 _'Thank you very much, Ahouko.'_ Kaito let a soft growl.

Aoko blinked and retracted her hand for a split second. "Are you angry?"

Kaito guessed he would freak her out if he nodded his head. Instead, he simply rubbed the back of his neck against her knee, silently asking her to continue. She did, until a few seconds later when her eyes sparked and she started rummaging through her groceries.

"You must be hungry, aren't you?" Aoko paused to give a once over Kaito's form before returning to her search. "You look a little thin."

 _Well..._

"Tada! How lucky you are!" Aoko took out the item she was finding for and waved it in the air. "I was planning to cook salmon for dad's bento lunch later so you can have part of it!"

 _'SCREW YOU AOKOOOOOOO!'_ Kaito exclaimed out with his lungs, but what came out was a screeching _Meeerrooww!_ He jumped away from Aoko, and especially the demon red thing in her hand, which was on the styrofoam tray and wrapped with a transparent plastic wrapper.

"Are you alright" Aoko's eyelashes fluttered rapidly at Kaito's sudden seizure, her face masked with confusion as she glanced between the fish and him. "Don't tell me you hate fish?"

 _'Keep that revolting thing away.'_ He hissed.

"This is the first time I've seen a cat like this." Aoko looked taken aback as she slowly kept the salmon into her grocery bag before shifting it behind her, hiding it from Kaito's view. "But hey, don't be scared. It's gone now."

Mentally counting to three, he slowly trekked to Aoko's side. The faint, haunting salty scent of fish had disappeared and only the smell of strawberry shampoo lingered.

"You're one unique cat, though." Aoko stroked his furry back again for a while, until all of the sudden, she began laughing.

He raised his head sharply and stared at her curiously, ears up and alert. Now that his hearing also improved by a ton... he preferred to listen to her chortles this way. More clear, more melodic.

"I'm sorry," she apologized mindlessly. "It's just that you reminded me of someone. He also hates fish too, and I was thinking perhaps both of you can be great friends."

 _Wow._ The irony was strong here.

"I can't wait to tell Kaito about this." She giggled to herself.

Kaito abruptly blinked, his ears twitched and slowly flattened to its side. The growing guilt inside his chest twisted and he felt almost like he was sinking into the ground... This wasn't good. And the note-

"Anyway, do you like watermelon? I have some cut pieces in the fridge so you can have some." Aoko stood up from her squatting position and stretched the aches away. "Oh right, how would a cat understand what I'm saying anyway?" She sheepishly shook her head at herself as she picked up her groceries from the floor. While she was at it, her other hand reached out for Kaito, but he skipped away before she could lift him up.

"What's wrong?" Aoko hummed. "Don't trust me?"

It was more of the opposite. Kaito would love to have some juicy watermelon now, or in fact, just simply stay with Aoko. But he couldn't. He couldn't stay when he was in this form, and what's more if an attachment was born? That would be trouble, given that Aoko was such a sentimental person. And there was no way he would want to repeat that Kudo Shinichi's mistake (Trying to hide his identity from his girlfriend _by_ staying with that said girlfriend? Kaito might not be able to judge since he didn't know the true motive, but... Was that detective even trying?)

Kaito snuffed and circled around Aoko's legs one last time before dashing out of the gates without any warning. He could hear her startled voice shouting a _"Hey, wait-!"_ , but if he were to stay any longer, he was afraid he would change his mind. He needed to go back to the professor's house.

But what he _needed_ more was to get his body back, fast.

Aoko sighed when the white cat was no longer in her sight. She turned towards her house, entering it after unlocking the door. "Oh well, it was cute though." She uttered out loud in the lonely and empty house and placed her groceries on the kitchen counter before heading to her bedroom. Just when she was about to go back to the kitchen after picking a hairtie from her dressing table, her eyes glimpsed past her desk and she stopped, realizing there was something different about it now and when she saw it this morning.

She hesitantly approached her desk, eyes glued to the note she knew was the culprit of the change.

"What is this?" Aoko muttered. There was something about the paper that told her it was from Kaito. Not sure if it was her gut feeling or imagination, but really, who else was capable of putting a note in her room and out of the blue too? The only thing that made her guess doubtful was the slanted handwriting. It was similar to Kaito's, but still a little foreign... she absently wondered if he had stupidly wrote with his left hand as a joke again, until her eyes started to focus on the meaning of the words itself.

 _There's some urgent issues I need to settle like usual so I can't go to the Cherry Blossom festival next week with you. Sorry._

It took quite a long while before Aoko managed to register the message into her brain. And eventually when she did, she slowly peeled her gaze from the paper and stared out of the balcony and towards the direction of Kaito's empty house.

"Did that idiot think I'll feel more sincerity from his apology through a written note rather than a text?" Aoko scoffed, blue eyes wavering. A small, twitchy sad smile soon etched on the corner of her lips. "...Bakaito."


	4. 4

Brighter than Sunshine (4)

* * *

"Ok." Shinichi cleared his throat, his neck cracking similarly to a movement of a robot as he turned towards the door. "I might have said I have trust in Kid's skills, but that didn't include him ringing the doorbell."

"It could be Yoshida-san and the rest. It's Spring break after all." Haibara tossed the magazine onto the coffee table and gave a once over to Shinichi. "Still, you should consider hiding yourself. Those kids are nonetheless acquaintances to Ran-san and you can't control what they say sometimes."

The doorbell rang again.

"Right, I definitely should." He lifted himself off the couch and started pacing around the living room dumbly. "Uh, where should I go?"

"Should I have not said the girl at the detective agency's name?" Haibara gave a withering look. "Get a grip of yourself."

"Yes, yes." Shinichi ruffled his hair to an even terrible mess, hating to admit that the mention of Ran's name did make his brain a little faulty and out of control. After calming down, he quickened his steps up the flight of stairs, knowing fully well no matter who the guest or guests were, they wouldn't go up to the second floor without an extremely good reason, which he doubt anyone would have any.

Haibara shook her head and tiptoed to press the intercom on the wall. "Hello?" Her usual bored voice sounded.

 _"Hello Ai-chan. Ran here."_

On the exact cue, Shinichi tripped at the near end of the stairs, his face almost falling flat if it wasn't his frantic hands that managed to grab hold of the banister to support his fall. Haibara pressed a palm over an eye before returning her attention to the intercom again. "Hold on. I'll open the gates." She said with deliberate slowness, hoping to buy some more time.

Professor Agasa skipped out of the kitchen, one hand holding onto a spoon while the other was gripping on the glass of apple smoothie he just finished making. "What is Ran-kun doing here?" His tone traced with slight panic, similarly to the way Shinichi was scrambling to his feet. "Could she have found out?" The professor added, his comment not exactly helping the situation.

 _Not good._ Shinichi groaned in his head and continued his climb up the stairs. He entered his bedroom and closed the door till it only leave a small gap, allowing himself to hear the conversation from below.

Knowing that the coast is clear, Haibara pressed the button to unlock the gate. Ran responded with a thoughtful "Thank you," before the call ended. A few seconds later, a knock came from the door and Haibara opened it.

"Hello Ai-chan and Professor Agasa, sorry to intrude." Ran entered the house with a smile that could make even strangers comfortable with her presence.

Professor Agasa subtlety cleared his throat. "Good to see you Ran-kun."

Ran's eyes wander around for a brief moment, until they set upon the glass of apple smoothie in the professor's hand. "Going through a healthy diet?" She lightly joked.

"Yeah," he laughed stiffly and began gulping down the smoothie in one go. Ran watched in amazement and gave a few assuring nods, as if the professor had passed a test he didn't know he was taking.

It took Haibara quite a large amount of energy to stop herself from sighing. "What brings you here, Ran-san." She popped the question since the conversation was going nowhere.

"Oh yeah," Ran placed a bag she was carrying onto the coffee table. "I've made some Sakura Mochi to kick start the Spring break two days ago and I thought I could pass it to Conan-kun so he could distribute them to the other kids and professor. But now that he's on a vacation with his mother, I've brought them here myself."

"Thank-" Professor Agasa burped, a blush tinted his round cheeks as he waved the empty glass in the air, embarrassed. "Sorry about that. And thank you Ran-kun. The rest of the kids would surely appreciate it."

Ran laughed, the echo of her chuckles drifted to the room where Shinichi was as he dumbly stood by the door, his hand clutching onto the door handle till his knuckles turned white. How easy was it for him to simply step out of the room and show himself to Ran? How easy was it for him to imagine her happy tears streaming down her face as she welcomed him back? How easy was it for him to hear her heart break a million times again when he knew he had to leave afterwards because _this_ , was not his goddamn body?

Shinichi exhaled a silent sigh.

Besides, Kid would definitely claw him to death if he did anything without prior discussion, especially with his body too.

"I'll be going now." Ran suddenly blurted and raised another bag in her hand sheepishly to further explain her departure. "I'm meeting Sonoko and Sera-chan later to pass them their portions too."

"Let me see you out," Professor Agasa proposed as he dumped the dirty glass and spoon into the sink and washed his hands. "That's the least I can do for the food you made for us."

She tried to oblige, but gave in at the end. "Thank you." Ran turned to Haibara before she went. "Have fun during your break too, Ai-chan."

It was hard to let the frown remain etched on her brows. Haibara's face fell lax and simply nodded in response.

Professor Agasa opened the door and allowed Ran to walk out first. She gave a smile to represent the gratitude, but abruptly stopped on her tracks when she only took one step out of the house.

"Eh?" Ran gasped in surprise, her head popped back in. "There's a cat in your front yard."

Shinichi nearly flung open the bedroom door when the words reached him. Nearly. He ran a hand down his forehead and to his mouth, trying to repress a yell. Maybe a pillow would be a better option.

"Uh, what?" the Professor gave the similar awkward laugh he made a minute ago and opened the door even wider so he could see what Ran was talking about. Haibara hastily stepped next to the professor, to gain a better view outside too.

Kid, the bobtailed white cat, stood just a few steps away from the front door, his body completely still.

"Is it a stray?" Ran wondered out loud as she slowly walked towards Kid, hoping her movement wouldn't scare him away. But before she could reach to touch his head, Kid had scrambled away and out of the gates in a blink.

"Definitely a stray." The professor nodded his head repetitively, his moustache would probably fly off if he did any harder. "I've never seen that cat before. _Never._ Not even once, Ran-kun."

Ran's eyebrows slightly raised in curiosity, her eyes blinking at Professor's Agasa exaggerated explanation. But she didn't press further or speak up about her puzzlement and smiled instead. "I see. Anyway, I should go."

"I'll send you out instead." Haibara offered out of the blue. She turned her body so her back was facing Ran and gave the professor a hardened look that conveyed _You're unnecessarily weirding things out._ When he got the message, Haibara continued with an impassive tone that held no underlying emotions from her previous expression. "Professor, you should go and keep the Sakura Mochi before Kojima-kun arrives later."

"Ah, yes," Professor Agasa conceded bashfully, before quickly correcting himself with a happy look, as if he wasn't feeling like a failure for his almost-busted act. "I should."

Haibara ambled out of the house and following behind her was Ran, whose eyes consisted a hint of mild amusement. "Sometimes I wonder if Professor Agasa is taking care of you or the other way round." Ran casually pointed out.

There really wasn't an answer Haibara could think of to reply. She simply opened the gate, which Ran helped to push as well.

"Goodbye." Was all Haibara could say.

"Thank you, and goodbye too." Ran gave a final wave before strolling down the blocks of houses and towards the direction to wherever she wanted to go. Just in case, Haibara stood outside the whole time and watched, until the figure of Ran's back disappeared. Haibara sighed, not with relief but exhaustion. It had been barely a day and _this_ already happened.

Haibara gave a half turn, her body momentarily faced the neighbouring house that belonged to the Kudo family. She stared at the glass window on the second floor, its curtains were half drawn open...

She shook her head, suppressing any unnecessary thoughts. Besides, the idiot detective and cat-thief both had an even bigger issue on hand now.

"Hey." Haibara called out after her conscious was snapped back to reality and she began to focus on where the hell Kid could hide or be. "You can come out now, wherever you are."

At that exact moment after the words left her mouth, she felt something ticklish against her leg and she looked down, to see Kid already by her side and looking at her. He averted his gaze to observed the streets where Ran went, his nose twitched unceremoniously.

 _'That ass didn't blow the cover, did he?'_ He uttered in a low growl.

"If you're wondering if Kudo-kun screwed up, then no, he didn't." Haibara answered to the purrs she didn't understand, but judging from the wide-eye look Kid was giving, it wasn't hard to guess.

The answer wasn't enough. Kaito wanted proof. Looking at how the Mouri girl walked out of the house in a good mood was one evidence, but he wanted to make sure she wasn't in a good mood _because_ she just finished killing Kudo Shinichi, who wasn't exactly Kudo Shinichi at the same time since it would be Kaito's body that was mutilated. He turned and skipped his way into the house, while Haibara quietly and slowly trailed behind.

 _That was close._ He instantly heard Shinichi's mental voice once the detective came into view. Kaito cast a look of disdain and entered the living room, his large pupils surveying Shinichi, who was standing by the couch and running a hand through his hair. Good. No injuries. No broken limbs. He's still alive.

 _'That was close indeed. I supposed she didn't see you since you're still in one piece. But why is she even here?'_ He grumbled. _'She almost gave me a bloody heart attack.'_

"Yeah, I hid in the room." Shinichi muttered and glanced over at Professor Agasa, who was walking out from the kitchen. "Ran came to pass some Sakura Mochi she made."

"Do yu wan' some?" The professor muffled with his filled mouth before giving one large swallow of the food in order to speak less gibberish. "I can take it out from the fridge again."

"You ate one already, haven't you?" Shinichi sighed and pointed to his own mouth. "You have crumbs here. You should get rid of it before-"

Haibara entered and closed the door behind her. It could be a consolation, considering she didn't slam it shut.

"We should start the more important discussion!" The professor started to blabber before Haibara had a chance to say anything. He then bent down to give an over-friendly smile to Kaito. "And also, glad you've come back safe and sound, too."

Kaito might've felt touch if he hadn't already made the decision to not bear any attachment with anyone in this house. He gave a non-committed reply by flickering his ears, but it was enough for the professor's smile to grow a little more sincere than it should.

"Yea, now given that everyone involved is here," Shinichi slumped onto the couch and signalled Haibara to sit down as well. "It's time for you to talk about the research."

 _'What did she research about?'_ Kaito tilted his head curiously and trekked over to Shinichi's feet.

" _Mystical Enchantment_." Shinichi spoke aloud. "The jewel."

 _'What for?'_ Kaito turned to look at Haibara as she indifferently settled herself on the couch opposite them. The professor joined in too.

"Did he mention about the jewel?" She tried to decipher something, anything from Shinichi's same blank look. "You don't seem enlighten."

"I don't, because his stupid purrs was asking you _What for_."

Haibara turned to face Kaito, her eyebrows rose a notch. "You _didn't_ know?" She said, with the same tone one might use when talking to a person who failed a test on how to breathe.

Kaito blinked. There were certain instances when he cared about the existence of the treasure more than the actual fact of knowing it couldn't be related to Pandora. But other than those important occasions, Jii was often the one who sieved out information about the jewels, such as their history or whatever qualities before deciding on whether it could fit Kaitou Kid's goal. He did remember Jii mentioned the jewel was dug up a few years ago somewhere in Africa, but really, being one of the hundreds Big Jewels that Kaito had stolen for so long, the backstories no longer fascinated or interest him. The only thing Kaito focused more was whether the jewel was Pandora or not.

And it wasn't, regretfully, as he'd confirmed that even before Kaitou Kid set his wings to fly towards the forest. But he did keep it with him, safe in his suit pocket so he could dispose the loot in a way that Inspector Nakamori would gain the credit. He supposed this was the least he could do to allow the Task Force members to stay in their job, despite their success rate of catching Kid was obviously zero.

"Let's spare them the misery and tell them, and me too, about the jewel you researched." Professor Agasa awkwardly whispered over to Haibara's ears.

"I guess you don't do background checks on the jewel, do you? At the rate you're stealing, you should be too busy for that. But well, it isn't anything fascinating either, actually. Just some trivia facts I found since the jewel sounded interesting." Haibara declared, just for the sake of saying it. She then cleared her throat. "More than ten thousand years ago, cats were one of the few animals the Egyptians worshipped, to the point tombs were built to pay respect for them."

The silence was heavy, pressuring, and almost loud enough till everyone could hear the blood gushing in their veins. Haibara hadn't finished what she had to say, but the direction to where she was heading with the conversation was pretty clear.

" _Mystical Enchantment_ was one of the treasures buried in that tomb of sacred mummified cats until it was unearthed, passed around among a few collectors, landed itself in a hotel exhibition and now stolen by Kid." She crossed her arms, ending the most summarized research she had done.

"So are you saying..." Shinichi squeezed his eyes shut and hammered his fist into his thigh. "... that we crashed into each other and... the jewel _possessed_ my body, turning me into a-"

" _This_ , I don't know, Kudo-kun." Haibara interrupted without mercy. "It might be a coincidence that there's a cat involved in this situation, but it's still nonetheless a faint connection."

Professor Agasa wiped a sweat that had trickled down his tensed and wrinkled forehead. "This is magic and madness you're talking about, Ai-kun. It doesn't exist."

Kaito stiffened.

His reaction didn't miss Shinichi's eyes. He gave a sidelong glance at the cat by his feet, brows creased. "Kid. You're exceptionally quiet."

 _'The so-called nonexistent magic and madness might be around the corner, actually.'_ Kaito let out a low, whiny purr that probably ruined every manly vibes he had possessed since birth.

"What do you mean?" Shinichi leaned forward.

"Please translate?" Professor Agasa butted in with a raised arm, as if he was a student asking for permission to go to the bathroom.

 _'It's a secret that's not mine to say.'_

Shinichi sighed inwardly, his head turned to the opposite couch. He was almost blinded by the intensity from the two pairs of eyes, one was filled with puzzlement while the other was filled with fuming desires and demand for answers.

"He said he don't know." Shinichi lied. "He's traumatized for being so useless and dumb right now."

Kaito flicked his ears aggressively. ' _Screw you.'_

Right at the very best moment, the doorbell decided to steal the show and rang loudly in the living room again, filling up the short one second of silence that was shifting from the decision between _continue-the-conversation_ or _drop-the-conversation_.

The latter was chosen. "It must be the kids this time round." Being nearest to the intercom, the professor plodded towards the wall and pressed the button. The speaker came to life before he could even say a word.

 _"Professor! That's so unfair!"_ Genta voice was the first to shout.

 _"We saw Ran-onesan on our way here and she said Conan-kun went on a vacation!"_ Ayumi exclaimed next.

 _"We'll like to go somewhere cool too, professor!"_ Mitsuhiko concluded with a heartfelt plea.

If Olympics happened to hold a synchronise-shouting competition, the three might get a chance to win for Japan. Professor Agasa sighed and turned to the other three in the living room. "What's the verdict?"

Haibara cast a bored glance over to the other two. "What I've said had been said. It's up to your own choices now."

"We'll hide in the room temporarily first," Shinichi stood up and gestured Kaito up the second floor, though the latter knew what he had to do and was already on his way to the stairs. "But you should bring them out later on. We can't coop in the room all day either."

Once Shinichi closed the bedroom door, Professor Agasa sensed it was the cue to press the button to unlock the gates, and within a second, rapid knocks came from the door. The children immediately bustled in with lots of chatters and opinions on where to go, and all Professor Agasa could do was to give a small protest about having to burn a big hole in his pockets if any of their wild suggestions came true.

"But it's boring here." Genta claimed. "We wanna visit somewhere fun like Conan."

"How about going to this new cafe that Yoshida-san talked about last week?" Haibara prompted, with both arms crossed over her chest. "There's a stamp for every ice cream bought and you'll get a free topping after you collected five stamps. We'll have a head start on the number before Edogawa-kun."

"Yeah!" Ayumi agreed appeasingly. "I remember the menu says it has a special strawberry-chocolate flavour! I wanna try that!"

The two other boys didn't have the heart to disagree with the cute girl in their group. Besides, it was a treat that Genta couldn't resist too. "Alright, let's go! Let's win Conan in this!"

Up the stairs was Shinichi standing by the door and heaving a quiet sigh to himself when he heard the kids elatedly sending themselves one by one to the door. The last thing he could hear before the door closed was the loud cheers asking the poor professor to hurry up. And then there was silence.

"They're gone." Shinichi stated the obvious in relief.

Kaito would love to show his smirk if he could. _'I like how the kids jumped on the opportunity to betray you so quickly, making sure you'll be lacking behind them in that one stamp forever.'_ He stretched smugly on the desk before lying comfortably on his stomach, his front feet tugged in.

Shinichi rolled his eyes and trudged to the edge of the bed and gave a dramatize slump, the bed creaked loudly as if it was in pain. "They are children, what do you expect?"

 _'Oh, are you hurt?'_

"Don't think you can distract me from the questions I have lined up for you."

 _'How would I dare?'_ Kaito gave a yawn that came from the bottom of his heart. He was legitimately tired, from the walks and jumps he'd done all morning.

"Good, then answer me seriously." Shinichi peered sideways at Kaito, setting both elbows on his thighs and brought his hands to his lips. "Who, in the contacts you know, can help with our situation?"

 _'I already said Kid has no ties.'_

"I do mean it when I say I won't sniff out your identity with any cheap methods." Shinichi gave a flat, unimpressive look. " _But_ you're slowly, surely, and forcibly making me do it."

Kaito stared back, his cat eyelids droopy and bored, equally unimpressed. He did have thoughts about contacting Akako if he could do it in the first place, since in all honesty, how else could that witch make him suffer more when this was now the hell of his life? Still, it was never wise to do so, and this should only be done as a last, _last_ resort.

 _'Let me tell you first; that I'm not at the least threatened by you.'_ Kaito tucked out a paw from underneath his furry chest and rubbed the back of his slightly itchy ear. _'But yes, I do have one. And that one is the very last person I want to look for, to be very honest.'_

"Explain."

By some natural instinct, Kaito stopped and licked his paw. Once feeling it was moist enough, he went back to rub the itchy part of his ear. Ah, much better-

"What the heck are you doing?" Shinichi flung up from his seat, finger pointing accusingly at Kaito.

Kaito looked at him like he needed medical attention, for both his reddened face and mental attributes. _'What?'_

"Did you just lick your paw? Which is also technically _my_ hand?" Shinichi made an odd, gurgling noise like he was trying to suffocate himself but failed. "That's disgusting."

 _'And what can you do about it?'_ Kaito snuffed, _totally_ smug.

"I'm going to disinfect my hand after I return back to my body." He deadpanned. "Or maybe I should just chop it off."

 _'If you're asking for an opinion, I'll vote for the second one.'_

Shinichi scowled, his lips turning into a downcast crescent. "If your ears is itchy, I can scratch them for you." He afforded, his tone suddenly kind and soft, too suspicious to be true

 _'Don't even think of touching me.'_ Kaito hissed.

He sighed and raised an arm in surrender. "Ok. Whatever. I'm tired of this conversation." He sat back onto the bed and gestured a hand over to Kaito, prodding him to continue. "You have yet to explain what you meant by the _very last person you want to look for_ , even when he or she could help out our bloody situation."

 _'For you and my sake, it's better to not make deals with her.'_

 _Her? A woman?_ Shinichi's eyes widened by a fraction, his composure slightly shaken at the new revelation. Obviously hearing his thoughts, Kaito gritted his teeth inwardly, cursing himself for the slip. Oh well, there's like billions of women in the world anyway. No harm divulging that part.

Feigning like he totally didn't notice his own mistake, he added. _'We can go look for her only when we are doomed. She's the same as doom anyway, so maybe the impact of seeing her then wouldn't be so drastic as now. By impact, I meant negative impact.'_

Shinichi frowned, his face looking a little at lost yet at the same time trying very hard to catch up. "Why do you make it sound like we're going to see the devil or something?"

Kaito's tail uncontrollably moved from one side to another. This detective can be so annoying with his questions. Annoyingly accurate too. _'So, as I've said, we should only look for her if we are really at our ends.'_ Kaito insisted again.

"Are you lying to me just so you can be all secretive about your identity, again?" Shinichi raised his head, like a thought had suddenly struck his mind. "Is she also the one you delivered the note to? About the Cherry-"

 _'No.'_ Kaito hissed through his sentence, cutting it silent.

"Okay, and sorry." Shinichi nervously tugged onto the hem of his shirt. "I did promise I won't mention about the notes again, so I apologize."

The claws that Kaito extended had retracted back to his paws. _'What I've said wasn't mostly to cover my identity. It was the truth.'_

"Then what can we do now, huh? Sit here and talk about how dinosaurs went extinct?" Shinichi stood up and paced around the room in circles. He just needed a tail and he would look perfectly like a dog.

 _'I don't know. I thought you're the smarter one here, detective.'_

"Your sarcasm is not helping." Shinichi glowered. All of the sudden, he stopped in his tracks and snapped a finger. "Wait. The jewel, right?"

 _'Yes?'_

"Where's the jewel?" He stomped to the desk, body hovering over Kaito.

Feeling slightly intimidated, Kaito stood up and jumped off the table to keep the constant five arms distance away from Shinichi. _'It was in the suit. Since Inspector Nakamori took it, it should be with him.'_

"We need to confirm this." Shinichi spun around and headed out of the room after flinging the door wide open. Kaito sighed and took his time to catch up to wherever Shinichi had gone. By the time Kaito reached the bottom floor, Shinichi was holding onto a tablet, his finger scrolling through whatever he was reading.

Curious, Kaito hastily jumped to his side and scratched his pants for attention. _'What are you looking at?'_

"The news." He bluntly said, as if it totally answered everything Kaito had ever asked.

Kaito didn't bother to question the second time. He angled his butt to the ground, shaking it left and right before making a pounce, clawing his way up Shinichi's shoulder as the latter gave a loud yelp.

"That's hurts!" Shinichi argued, his breath spatting onto the side of Kaito's body. Kaito would have retaliated in disgust of Shinichi's breath touching his skin with a claw over his face, but he was too busy being engrossed with the screen to mind about him. His pupils dilated at the headlines.

 _Kaitou Kid had successfully stolen Mystical Enchantment!_ was titled in bold.

"You said you'd returned the jewel, but there's nothing about it being written here." Shinichi commented, his finger flicked through the screen to move the page down.

 _'The media sometimes doesn't. Or sometimes the police didn't divulge the information either.'_ After finishing reading the not-so-helpful news, Kaito jumped off Shinichi's shoulder and walked stealthily away. _'Anyway, it's hard to confirm through the news. Only the Task Force would have reports on that.'_

"Now we have something to do." Shinichi shut the tablet off and placed it back beside the large TV mindlessly. "We shall go to the headquarter where the Kaitou Kid's Task Force is and check it out. Magic or madness or whatever it is, the jewel is the key."

 _'How are we going to_ get _in there and_ take _the jewel?'_ Kaito whirled around and stared blankly at Shinichi. _'I don't have the_ hands _to disguise you properly. And you don't have the skills to do it; Both the make-up and the stealing.'_

"I'll go in as simply Kudo Shinichi."

Kaito's mouth creaked open, too dumbfounded to speak for a second. _'And I thought you wanted to pretend dead? And that you wanted to hide? And that you didn't want your girlfriend to find out that you're like this?'_ This detective just couldn't make up his goddamn mind, could he?

"Okay, since Haibara and the professor isn't around, I'll dare to suggest this now." Shinichi took in a deep breath and clapped his hands together solemnly, like he's going to propose an important decision on behalf of a business company when he's technically only speaking to a cat. "I've never got people coming up to me because they mistook me for someone else. And by someone else, I meant you."

 _'Did something just fly past me?'_ Kaito raised his head into the air. _'Oh. I think it's the point of your statement.'_

Shinichi rolled his eyes, ignoring Kaito's wry remark. "You've never been mistaken as Kudo Shinichi, have you?"

 _'You can't be so sure about that.'_ Kaito snuffed, his head lowered back to stare at Shinichi with a cautious look. _'Someone might have seen me and thought I was you, but never stopped to call me. Likewise, it could be same situation as yours about me.'_

That statement seemed to ring a familiar bell in his head. Shinichi flicked his gaze to the corner of his eyes, trying to recollect the faint and distant memory, but it was too old to be remembered. He shook his head, dispelling whatever thought that failed to appear in his mind. It couldn't be important then. "Old habits die hard, huh?" Shinichi sneered down at Kaito. "Always going through such thorough planning."

 _'I'm touched you think so highly of me.'_

Ignoring Kaito's snarky replies was starting to become a habit. "I'll be discreet." Shinichi said, stroking his chin. Only one second passed when he moved his suddenly enlightened gaze towards Kaito. "Oh, or are you actually worried someone _you_ know will recognize _you_?"

Kaito circled in his position to find a comforting spot before sitting down, deciding this conversation was taking longer than necessary. And well, _shit_ it did. Surprisingly stupid to admit, _this_ was a problem Kaito didn't consider and think about at all. If someone were to call out his name... his identity would be busted. But what were the chances, really? His few good male classmates were avid online gamers, and Spring breaks entitled them to stay at home all day. The rest, or probably most of the girl classmates often avoided him like a plague due to his pervert reputation in school. The worrisome ones were those he was closer to. Like-

 _'No. We can't go to the headquarters today.'_ Kaito's ears flickered, suddenly alarmed. Damn, he'd almost forgotten how Aoko did mention earlier she wanted to make bento lunch for her dad today! He couldn't go there when she would be around that vicinity.

"Care to explain?" Shinichi narrowed his eyes. "Did what I say hit the nail on the head?"

 _'I was thinking that we should go to the hotel instead. It's a better option.'_ Kaito forced himself to not twitch his nose or ears, the body languages that betrayed his emotions, similar in a way like he had broken his poker face.

Shinichi considered for the moment. "I guess it's logical. We should visit the crime scene first."

 _'Exactly. It seems your great and electrifying detective skills must have rubbed off on me too.'_

"Spare me those empty compliments." Shinichi muttered and headed up the stairs again. "I have a bag in my wardrobe somewhere. You can hide inside so we can take the transport much easier."

 _'Bless me with one that isn't infected with dust and fleas. Thanks.'_ Kaito fully and thoroughly meant it.

Shinichi turned to look past the living room and where Kaito was. "I'm not a fairy godmother. I don't grant wishes." He didn't sound as apologetic as he should be.

Kaito hissed as Shinichi disappeared behind the door.

On a positive note, they were now planning and doing something beneficial to their problems instead of brooding in the house. And on another good note, this current plan held a lesser chance for Kuroba Kaito to run into anyone he knew, busting his name and identity at once. Or maybe, it could be Kudo Shinichi's suffering that plight instead, for running into people that he _shouldn't._

Neither, please.

Well, let there really be some fairy godmother in one part of the universe to grandly bless them on that.


	5. 5

Brighter than Sunshine (5)

NOTE: School was alright for the first week but recently it's been trying very hard to prove me wrong. Life's getting busier and I couldn't sustain the insane quick updates like what I did before. Anyway hope you'll enjoy it and thank you for reading till this far! :')

* * *

It would be _funny_ if they were picked up by the same driver they tricked to think Shinichi was a pregnant woman, but it seemed some God out there must have took pity on them and it didn't happen.

To level up the so-called discreetness, riding a cab was the only option out of the rest. Kaito had nothing to complain, and the faster they reached the hotel, the faster he could get out of sling bag Shinichi used to hide him in too. The bag was originally squarish and flat, so when Kaito fit his entire body in, it looked like an inflated bag of potato chips. There really wasn't a choice left when the rest of the bags left in the house were translucent or children bag pack that couldn't fit Shinichi's broad arm. Shinichi would probably die a second time if he borrowed Haibara's expensive Fusea purses or hand bags, not like he would anyway when the design didn't match him.

The driver cast a quick glance at the black, fat sling bag when Shinichi climbed into the passenger's seat at the back. It wasn't planned, and definitely unintentional when Shinichi slumped onto the leather seat, trying to fit his long legs into the space of the car. The bag bumped up and down and Kaito yelped out in irritated pain, catching the driver's attention as he turned to look at Shinichi with a raised eyebrow again.

Shinichi made a few repetitive sound of coughing and twisted the peak of a black baseball cap, which he happened to find in the midst of searching for a bag (No harm trying to have an additional measure to hide his face, furthermore he couldn't stand the sight of his unruly hair too). "Sorry." He gave a sheepish smile and slowly adjusted his butt one last time. "I have a sore throat."

The rest of the car ride was silent.

They dropped off a short distance before the hotel before watching the cab reverse and drove back to the main road. Kaito grudgingly leapt out of the bag once Shinichi made sure no one was around to see their ploy and began their stroll past the entrance of the building and towards the forest right next to it, where their nightmare began. The ground was visible and much more noticeable despite the canopy of the forest, but the trees all looked identical to Shinichi, and it was hard to find or identify the exact location of the crash when everything looked so different in comparison to daylight and nighttime.

He didn't have the chance to state his worry when Kaito made his way deeper into the forest, his head lifted and nose twitching as he pawed towards a specific direction with confidence. Shinichi was wise enough to not speak a word and followed accordingly. He was clearly lacking the advantage of having a human nose here.

Things and surroundings were starting to become more recognisable, such as the odd structures of some trees were more familiar than the ones near the entrance. And when Kaito finally stopped at a spot, Shinichi didn't need to hear to know this was the crime scene they were talking about.

Marks of the crash could still be faintly seen on the ground. There were long scratches on the poor tree, dented imprints of the wreck up glider on the dried mud, along with dozens of large footprints that probably belonged to the Kaitou Kid Task Force. The lingering scent of familiarity was caught by Kaito's sharp sense of smell, even though it was faint and barely noticeable if he didn't focus enough. Just fifteen minutes of rain would definitely wash everything away.

But there was one special smell that was distinct out of the rest. It was newer, or somehow fresher in some sense, like it was only recent that it polluted the air.

Polluted? Such a nasty word. But not really if it's applying to a certain man Kaito wasn't really keen to see.

Maybe it was a wrong choice to step out of the house after all.

"I knew you'd come back."

Kaito closed his eyes, praying for death.

Shinichi was almost too distracted by the scratches on the tree to think the words were just his hallucination. He straightened his posture and whirled around, his hand reaching for his cap like a conscious shield that could protect him from any harm. But judging from the _harm_ coming their way, it'd take more than a hat for it.

After much crunching leaves and breaking of branches, Hakuba Saguru stepped into the small clearing, his brown coat almost blending in colours with the trees barks, which Kaito wished Hakuba had done and stay camouflage with the trees forever. In fact, his blonde hair only emphasized on how much the detective looked like a tree; A withering, dying tree.

Fantastic. A new item for the list of things-to-mock-Hakuba-about.

"Save your effort, Kid." Hakuba scoffed, both hands dug deep inside his coat pockets. "The area had been scouted twice."

Ok. At least Hakuba was acknowledging him as _Kid_ , which he usually did anyway. This was the only time Kaito was grateful for the existence of Hakuba's mouth. If things remained like this, then it's-

"I think you've mistaken. I'm not Kid. I'm Kudo Shinichi," Shinichi couldn't control the proud smile that was always paired up with his famous introduction. "A detective."

 _WHAT._ Kaito snapped his head over to the self-proclaimed detective, his tail shot up in the air. _'Why are you exposing yourself?'_

"Kudo Shinichi?" Hakuba narrowed his eyes and scrutinized the said man up and down. "I've heard quite a bit about you. The only person suitable of the name _Detective of the East,_ it seemed."

Shinichi couldn't deny how Heiji could be quite protective sometimes, towards people he cared about, nonetheless. He cleared his throat, trying to ignore the emitting glares coming from the ground where Kaito was. "You're equally as renowned, if you were to ask me."

Hakuba accepted the compliment with a slightly widened smile and stepped forward, his posture leaning towards Shinichi's face as he studied his features under the cap. Exactly five seconds later, Hakuba spoke. "I've heard you've disappeared, what brings you here?" He straightened and suddenly crossed his arms.

 _Not good. Crossing arms is_ not _a good sign. The cap isn't going to hide anything when the body and face is_ indeed _mine._ Kaito began curling around one of Shinichi's leg and the latter flinched in surprise. Both detective looked down to see what the commotion was about.

 _'We should go. There's nothing left for us to look. He already said the area's been scouted.'_ Kaito purred, as innocent and normal as he could wish to sound like.

Shinichi's eyes narrowed by a fraction, his stares lingered over Kaito suspiciously. "I was away on an important case," He slowly answered and looked up, bluntly ignoring Kaito's suggestion. "But I'd come back for a short while and happened to be nearby for yesterday heist. And after seeing the crash, it made me curious to come back to investigate again."

Hakuba's face relaxed a little. "Ah, yeah. I did hear Inspector Nakamori mention a detective came by. So it's you."

"He didn't mention my name?"

"Everything was a chaos yesterday and I guess he was distracted. It slipped his mind when I asked him about it."

Shinichi sighed inwardly, not from disappointment for being forgotten but out of relief. Something had been weighing in his chest, and perhaps it was this case; about exposing himself uncomfortably to a person he didn't put his full trust in. Now he could feel the weight of this burden lifted off, just a bit.

"Good, actually. If you can, please let him know that he shouldn't, or rather couldn't, tell anyone about my presence here. Same goes for his subordinates." Shinichi divulged, his words carefully emphasized. "I'm not supposed to be here after all, since I'm should be away out of Japan and on an important case."

 _The story-telling isn't helping._ Kaito glowered in his head, his tails constantly swiping like a windshield wiper. _And this idiot isn't listening to me._

"I can, if that's the case." The blonde gave a half, sincere smile.

"Anyway, you mentioned the area was being searched for, so does that mean the jewel was not found?" Shinichi continued.

"Yeah," Hakuba cast a quick glance around their surroundings. "Kid's disposed items were sent back to the station, but there was no trace of the jewel anywhere. Kid might have taken it away, but I personally don't see the need he would abandon his suit and the rest of his stuff and only take the jewel." Hakuba paused, his brows furrowed. "I think Kid's belongings, especially his suit, would hold much importance and value for the thief. There must be something more to it."

 _Something more to it, definitely._ Shinichi thought wryly.

Kaito's scowled inwardly. It wasn't like he _wanted_ it to happen either. And true, just solely his suit, the amount of tricks hidden in those secret pockets or sleeves could last him about five heists. He made a mental note to steal his belongings back, _after_ he returned back to his body. But more importantly, before the idea of getting his body back, this current messy situation wasn't in Kaito's favour. Both parties were irritating, stubborn and definitely not easy for Kaito to trick or manipulate to his benefit. What's more he's now a _cat_.

 _Just a stupid slip of word..._

He could only monitor the situation, like a cat he was tasked to be.

"You must be really interested in Kid." Shinichi casually blurted out. Casually. _So,_ so casually that Kaito would be more than casual to extend his claws and slash Shinichi's face too.

"Indeed." Hakuba's arm tightened around his chest. "Fun and games between a rival, I guess. In school, I have a conduct to adhere. But in heists, revenge can be pretty sweet."

Kaito could almost _hear_ the gears working in Shinichi's head. He quickly leaped onto Shinichi's shoulder as a form of distraction, effectively startling him and Hakuba the same.

"Is this your cat?" Hakuba asked, his arms slightly slacked. "It's pretty affectionate."

"Ah yes, it's mine. Belonged to an owner who I met on a case. But now he's under my care." Shinichi said smoothly, not once breaking a sweat. If he had to be honest, his fabricating skills had improved quite a few levels after he shrunk. Not a positive thing to lie to people he loved, but it came in handy for such situation.

But it seemed his stories only worked when he _was_ Conan, the cute little boy everyone couldn't help but believe in.

Hakuba suddenly laughed. He bent his body front and back, trying to catch his breath as he loosened his arms to wipe an invisible tear in his eye. "My _dear_ friend," he scoffed, shaking his head with a smirk etched on his lips. "How long do you think you can fool me?"

Maybe he should reconsider slashing Shinichi's face. Hakuba seemed a better option.

The visor of the cap didn't allow Shinichi's eyebrows to raise to its fullest potential. "What?"

"You're getting lazy with your disguise, aren't you?" Hakuba wry smile didn't falter. He flicked his amber eyes over at Shinichi. "A hat? Really?"

"I-"

Before Kaito could choose between slashing or biting Hakuba's face off, the blonde whipped out his phone from his pocket and flashed the screen to Shinichi's face. The glass screen almost hit Shinichi's nose if he didn't lean back in reflex. And because of that, Kaito lost his balance and had to jump to the ground on his own before he fall due to gravity. He looked up instantly once he was safe on the ground, his two pupils dilated at the pair of detective as they continued their game of silence.

 _One second... Two seconds... Five seconds..._ As Hakuba's mental clock continued to tick pass and the tension was becoming more awkward and heavier, the dry smile on his lips was fading till it turned into a gape.

"Uh, is there something wrong?" Shinichi slowly pushed Hakuba's wrist away. His eyes was getting uncomfortable for staring at the bright screen for too long. "Is this a case? A murdered fish?"

Hakuba retracted his arm to look down at the phone screen in his hand. The scowl seemed to have taken up a permanent residence on his face. "It should have worked." He muttered to himself.

Looking at Hakuba's reaction, the phone he was staring in disbelief for the shattered truth and Shinichi's response, Kaito knew what it meant in an instant. After Aoko foolishly set up that Kaitou Kid Capture Brigade and their time spent together annoyingly increased, her antics to prank him back when he made her suffer his jokes were too obvious for Hakuba to not notice Kaito feared fish. Although Hakuba never purposely provoked Kaito with his phobia, be it when he was a normal citizen or Kaitou Kid, he knew the detective was holding onto this trump card and would use it at the correct moment.

And _this_ was the moment. But now that Shinichi's reaction didn't tally with the ones Kaito always gave when Aoko conducted her revenge, it was safe to say Hakuba's suspicion was cleared. No matter how good a disguise could be, no matter how masterful a poker face could be, fear was much more difficult to control than anger.

Kaito's spiked up fur relaxed as he settled his butt onto the ground with smug relief.

A momentary pause.

"What should have worked?" Shinichi couldn't help but ask. From those encounters, he knew Hakuba was rational and calm when comparing effectively with Heiji, of course. That was why that sudden weird action was a little puzzling for Shinichi to ignore. Besides, _what_ could work by slapping his face with the image of a dead fish? The picture did churn his stomach in disgust, but he guessed it had something to do with the creepy dead eyes and greyish scaly skin.

"Oh, it's nothing." Hakuba gave an embarrassed laugh and kept his phone inside his pocket once again. He mused for a moment before shaking his head. "Anyway, do you need a lift? You can take it as an apology for my disrespectful moment from earlier."

"It's alright." Shinichi waved a hand dismissively. "I want to stay around a little longer."

"If that's the case, I'll be going off now." He glanced down at his exquisite watch, nodding to himself and made a turn to be on his way. "My chauffeur is about to arrive soon. I'll let Inspector Nakamori know your request to keep your profile low."

"Thanks."

"You're more than welcome." Hakuba's charismatic smirk wouldn't work on Shinichi, but he showed it nonetheless, just to fit his appearance. He waved his hand as a sign of departure before proceeding to the main entrance of the hotel, where the pick-up point was as well.

Kaito gave a half sneer at Hakuba's back. _Finally. Good riddance._

After two short seconds, Shinichi made his way and followed the exact route Hakuba used towards the main entrance. "We should leave too, before Haibara and the professor gets back. Especially Haibara, actually."

 _'What? I thought you wanted to stay longer.'_ Kaito tilted his head, eyes wide and curious. _'Then why didn't you agree to Hakuba's request?'_

"I'll prefer making as little contact as possible, for now."

 _'You're the most fickle-minded person I've ever met. Worse than asking a girl what to eat for dinner.'_ Kaito growled in displeasement. _'First you declared your own existence, and now you want to make little contact? Not that I'm complaining about the second matter.'_

"I've met Hakuba twice, and the first time you were there." Shinichi stopped and shuffled a bunch of dead leaves on the ground with a foot, to find nothing at the bottom. He continued mindlessly. "I know who's good to trust and who's not."

 _'And there you are, turned into a child and all. You sure know a lot.'_

"You can't deny the outcome of my admittance had been purposeful. I've got the relevant answers and now we've saved a trip to the police headquarters." Shinichi scorned, flicking a withering gaze over at Kaito one last time before he made his way out of the forest again. "Hurry up. Your pace isn't as fast as you think you are anymore."

 _'Thank you very much for reminding me about my fabulous condition.'_ Kaito's eyes drooped, the form of his face turned grumpy.

Making sure the hat was kept in place, Shinichi crept out of the forest and passed the little pavement that led to the street in front of the hotel. Kaito wasted no time to prove his capability of catching up, and by the time they were a safe distance from the hotel, and probably far enough and away from Hakuba to see them from where he was, they began to slow down in their stride, which in fact Kaito was inwardly thankful for.

"So the jewel isn't with the Task Force, neither was it returned back to the collector." Shinichi broke the stillness between them and frowned as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Then where else could it be?"

Kaito lowered his gaze to the ground as he walked, trying to figure the answer out but to no avail. The only possible answer was either with the Task Force or the collector, and both of it was void. Besides, the squad members already did a search for it, and the collector most probably hired a bunch of people to help look for it already too, if he was desperate enough. Based on his physics calculation, including extra variables like the impact and gravity issues, the gem couldn't possibly go any further than six metres in radius. It would be an easy find, if the jewel was even there.

"Could it be with your accomplice?" Shinichi questioned out loud.

 _'No. It couldn't be.'_ Kaito had already made an agreement to be the only one to return the jewel. More importantly, Jii's help for this heist was only on the administrative side. He didn't come down to the hotel at all.

Shinichi sighed and gritted his teeth. "Then we're back to square one."

 _'There should be a reason why it's gone. And perhaps the reason is the key to our answer.'_ Kaito tried to reason out.

"You've got a point, but it's not substantial." Shinichi lifted his arms and gestured in a way he's holding two invisible cups in his hands. "There's no evidence of it."

 _'Ah, the key word in every bloody, annoying detectives' dictionary; evidence.'_ Kaito snuffed in near disgust. He'd almost forgotten he was talking to one. Almost. _'The evidence is that there's no jewel.'_

"Okay, fine. If you want to put it that way, then." Shinichi crossed his arms, his poise obviously challenging rather than being accepting, like what his previous sentence was supposed to imply. "What now? Aren't we still back to square one? We don't have anything to figure out the _magic and madness_ that is happening right now."

 _'It might not wear off by one night, but by the second it might. Maybe we should just wait for the chance.'_ Kaito suggested. Well, _this_ did apply to him when snow started falling on Akako's magic circle and he got to luckily escape the mess he's almost died for. Perhaps something similar could work too? Waiting? For a chance?

"That's such a lazy way to solve the problem." Shinichi frowned, eyes flashing with disapproval.

Kaito couldn't deny the fact. _'If not then yes, we're back to square one.'_

The faint sound of approaching engine managed to distract them out of the depressing conversation as Shinichi turned back with anticipation, but the car that zoomed past them was merely a normal car and not the cab they were hoping for. Kaito was actually preparing his stance to jump and squirm into Shinichi's bag if it really was one.

"I should have agreed to Hakuba's offer." Shinichi muttered as he stared at the nearly endless, empty road ahead. "It's still a long way to the main road."

 _'As much as I would like to oppose the idea, I still have to agree with you.'_ Kaito murmured. He had to spend more energy than Shinichi to simply cover two human steps, and not to mention his aching paws still hadn't recovered from the morning trip too.

"You haven't eaten anything since last night, right?" Shinichi shook his head, though it wasn't like he had the rights to talk. He didn't get to drink the apple smoothie earlier, which was supposed to be meant for him too. He gave a defeated sigh, until he turned his heavy head to see a convenience store right ahead, situated just a left turn inside a small, desolated carpark. A spark finally lit up his hazy eyes. "Look, there's our hope." Shinichi raised a hand at pointed at the so-called hope he was referring to.

Kaito halted in his steps, his ears perked up. But a second didn't pass and his ears flattened on his head in a disheartened manner. _'I don't want canned food.'_

"Do you even have a choice?" Shinichi scoffed, his pace quickened.

 _'I'd rather not eat.'_ His purrs grew louder, stubborn and serious.

"Fine, then. Wait outside here." He didn't bother to spare a glance back as he made a turn into the carpark and towards the quiet store.

"Welcome." The female storekeeper chimed as loudly as the robotic alarm ringing in the shop when Shinichi entered.

He gave a quick bow back and unconsciously lowered the tip of his hat as he roamed around the shop for a round or two. When he couldn't find what he wanted, he headed to the counter and gave a quick brief smile. "Do you happen to sell any cat food here? Biscuits would be great."

The staff looked almost surprise, but in a blink of an eye, her features only held the expression of apologetic. "We actually once did in the past, despite being only a convenience store. But as of this year, any sale of pet foods are banned by the hotel management that we work closely with."

"I see. Actually I'm not expecting a positive answer anyway. Just trying my luck." Shinichi nodded, almost to himself. "Thanks."

"Sorry about that."

He surveyed the entire store one more time before heading to one of the rows he'd decided and picked up a kid-sized box of wholegrain cereal. It's at least something solid and different from milk, which Haibara was _so_ kind to save some for Kid already. He stuck the tiny box under his arm before going to the other end of the store to grab his own choice of food before heading to do his payment. It was only when he set the items on the counter then he realized he had actually picked out five chocolate bars, two lollipops, a handful of large candies and one packet of gum.

"Would that be all?"

"Hold on." Shinichi muttered as he grabbed one out of the five chocolate bars and went back to exchange it with another flavoured packet of gum. Good. Now's better.

The staff nodded and began scanning the items, the beeping sound echoing throughout the store. Having nothing to do but wait, his eyes casually lingered around the advertisement posters pasted on the wall behind the counter. Buy two beers and get the third beer at a half price... Hotel guests get five percent discount for every purchase... Cherry Blossom festival-

Cherry Blossom festival.

Shinichi stared at the pinkish poster for a good five seconds before he turned his head sharply towards the entrance, his eyes peering through the transparent door and beyond the carpark. There, like instructed, was Kid sitting by the pavement, with his back facing the store and his little bobtail swiping slowly to his left and right.

Just across the road, and the direction which Kid was staring at, was a row of Cherry Blossom trees that weren't in bloom yet.

"Because of Cherry Blossom trees that grew around this area, the number of hotel guests would spike during the festive period." The staff suddenly spoke, breaking Shinichi's empty yet heavy thoughts. He turned back to face her as she continued. "A few cats happened to linger about here too, and these tourists then requested to have stocks on cat foods so they could purchase it for the strays. My boss couldn't say no to extra business, but when the number of strays increased and started to disrupt the hotel, the management banned it ever since."

 _Cats and strays... huh?_ Shinichi kept the little, probably irrelevant information somewhere back in his brain. "No wonder you looked shocked when I asked the question." He finally found out the truth. It was nice to find out truths. This was probably the first _good_ truth he found since yesterday night.

"Yeah." She answered sheepishly as she placed the last item into the plastic bag and pushed it towards him. He took the cue and fished out for his wallet to pay for the price before scooping the bag and ambled his way to the exit after they both exchanged their polite thanks and goodbye. But just before he took one more step to activate the sensor and open the automated door, he took his chance to stare at Kid through the glass one last time.

Pursing his lips after two senseless seconds passed, he finally exited the store, dismissing the thought of even trying to determine the sign of loneliness by staring at a cat's back.

When the door closed behind Shinichi, Kid's flattened ear twitched and he turned back, his bored eyes watching him trudging to his side. _'What's taking you so long?'_ Kid tilted his head, trying to sneak a glimpse inside the store. _'Are you flirting? Don't use my body for stupid things.'_

"Aren't _you_ always flirting?" Shinichi rolled his eyes.

There was a pause. _'Don't tell me you're seriously flirting?'_

"I'm not an idiot like you." He snapped and sat on the step by the sidewalk, his long legs stretched out onto the road. He fumbled through the bag and pulled out the box of kid-sized cereal before shaking it over at Kid's face. "And I'm not as heartless as you think too."

Kid stared, hard and long, as Shinichi tear open the box and the plastic wrapper before scattering the tiny bits onto the box, using the latter as a form of table. Shinichi didn't expect any reply and began digging the bag for his own food, but it still came nonetheless;

 _'Thanks.'_

No sarcasm. No underlying emotions. Just plain and simple. Shinichi tore the wrapper of a chocolate bar and gave a sidelong glance as Kid ducked his head down and nibbled onto the crumbs.

"You have a sweet-tooth, don't you." Shinichi crunched onto the black, diabetic thing in his hand. "I've been craving sweets ever since I'm in your body."

 _'Deal with it.'_ Kid drawled.

"Yes. In fact, I'm trying very hard to deal with _it._ " He grumbled with his mouth full after taking a second bite. "I don't hate sweets, but I don't like it either." He began tearing open the next chocolate bar.

 _'Great. Another comforting difference we have on the list.'_ Kid set a paw onto the empty platform of the box, which Shinichi took the hint as a request to refill. He scoffed out loud before helping to do it. There wasn't a second thanks, and Shinichi was inwardly glad there wasn't. Formalities weren't meant to have between them.

 _'Anyway, what did Hakuba show you on his phone?'_ Kid asked, his head dipped into the box once again.

"An image of a dead fish." Shinichi drawled, eyes warily looking over to Kid. "Why?"

 _'Just asking.'_ The confirmation seemed to please Kid even more, in addition to the joy of having something to eat.

"In actual fact, Hakuba knows _you_ , right?" Shinichi's lazy tone was tainted with a slight hint of suspicion.

 _'Of course he knows me. He's been stupidly chasing after me for a year.'_

Shinichi sighed and munched onto his chocolate bar, knowing there was no point in asking further when he knew the answers he received wouldn't be the satisfied ones he wanted to hear. Besides, he didn't want to start another pointless conversation of snarky remarks and angry debates for the sake of nothing. He stared ahead blankly, his brain only concentrating on operating and working on his mouth movement until his eyes started to focus on what he was looking at.

Even though it wasn't very obvious, or perhaps it was just his hopeful and excited delusion, Shinichi thought the buds growing along the branches had increased in size, compared to the time he saw it during the heist yesterday, just in time to bloom to a riot of pink during the Cherry Blossom festival coming in a week. He could almost picture everything. The beautiful scenery, the beautiful moment, the beautiful memories, the-

He cast a quick glance at Kid before looking at the trees in front of them again. He could empathize as much for Kid with his current issue, despite him being a wanted international criminal and all. And even though Shinichi had transformed into Edogawa Conan and his life was filled with a trainwreck of misery and painful ironic separation, he was in a form of a human being who could still talk and be around Ran, watching her by his side constantly.

But a... cat? What could a cat do?

Maybe empathy wasn't a good word. It was more than that. Perhaps pity, even.

 _The note must be for someone important. A girlfriend, perhaps?_ Shinichi lowered his eyes and pondered, breaking the chocolate bar almost in half when he took another strong bite. _With his night identity, it's surprising he still got the time for a relationship._ His thoughts were turning a little sardonic as it continued to drift, causing one side of his lips to turned upwards.

A sudden loud crunch, yet also similar to a busting sound, startled Shinichi out of his thoughts as he nearly spun his entire body to face Kid, which was where the sound emitted from. Kid's bored but slightly intimidating cat eyes blinked back at him, one side of the box was noticeably flattened under his paw.

 _'More, please.'_

Shinichi obliged without a word.

They spent another ten minutes finishing their own food before packing up and continued their long journey to the main road. It was impossible for them to start any get-to-know-you-more types of conversation, so their little trip was mostly filled with silence and occasional grunts when the car that passed them by wasn't the cab they were hoping for. But it wasn't like their efforts didn't pay off. They reached the main road by the next half an hour and in an instant after Kid hid inside Shinichi's sling bag, a taxi came to their rescue.

.o.

An hour after the forest became still, with no more disturbance from any living beings that possessed less than six legs, two hotel staffs each carried two heavy loaded trash bags in their hands as the plodded their way to the bin area behind the building. The number of trash left behind by Kaitou Kid's fans seemed nearly endless, be it inside the hotel or outside the hotel. True, Kaitou Kid's scheduled heist helped to increase the revenue for the hotel, but it was just more trouble for the staffs to handle; they had spent nearly a day picking up rubbish, finding lost items and cleaning up the mess that were left behind.

"Is yours the last bag?" One male hotel staff sighed wistfully and swiped his hands together after throwing his portion.

"Last batch, not last bag. There's a couple more left." The other male hotel staff tossed his bag into the bin. "Our work is-"

 _"Ack."_

It was like time stopped as the two workers froze. Their head rotated to face each other with a mirrored blank look, before their eyes slowly travelled towards the large bin before them.

"Did you hear that?" One whispered.

"Yes I did." The other responded with a similar tone.

In the next split second, a head suddenly popped out from the sea of trash and black bags, two wide blue eyes glimmered behind the the round spectacles as a piece of dirtied and torn pillow sheet slipped off his head, dropping back to the bin with a soft plop that killed the deafening silence to an end.

Panic ensued.

"Isn't- Isn't this the kid that came together with Sleeping Kogoro?"

"What the hell is he doing here?!"

Edogawa Conan blinked.

"Asami-san has Sleeping Kogoro's name card, right?"

 _Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry_

"Yeah! I remembered seeing him distributing one to her."

 _Itchy. Itchy. Itchy. Itchy._

"Ok, I'll go find her! You'll stay here to watch him."


End file.
